Crimson Love
by sand-nin-gurl
Summary: Gai is a homeroom teacher, Irukathesadistic teaches Language Arts, and Kakashi teaches music. Itachi becomes the cool upperclassman. Meanwhile, a lovetriangle forms... R for language, drug ref. and mature content
1. Welcome To Freaks And Geeks High!

**Crimson Love****

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Wow, you all voted so fast! Ok, here is the new romance fic by Sand-nin-gurl!

To those who have not read my fictions yet, and those who are coming here from _Apprentice_ and _The Purity of White_: Hello! Welcome to my new romance fic! Itachi-lovin', hell yeah! (Glomps Itachi) I have his picture on my back round (I always keep my hubby close!) Anywho and why... Um...

I'll let you in on a secret: I was planning to do an Itachi-romance anyway, no matter what you people said. I love Neji, don't get me wrong. I ADORE Neji. Neji is my baby. But... I don't really see him as the "romance" type. I see him as the kind of person who could be the third wheel in a love-triangle, if he was out of character (by a lot), but not the kind of person the fic was totally centered on. But don't worry! He most definitely will be in this! (Maybe as a third wheel... you never know...)

I like writing Neji as a shy kind of person, though... Like the kind of guy who sits by himself and blushes when a girl looks at him. I think it's cute! I especially like fics where he and Hinata bond and become friends. Like, this one fic called _Basemates, _I really liked that! It was cute! I read it over and over and over and never get tired of it! Kyah!

This is an Itachi fic, but at the same time, a Neji fic! (Glomps them both) I love them so much, I just don't know what to do with them!

Itachi: You could let go.

T.T I am so unloved.

Ah well, can't be helped!

There's something I want to make sort of clear before I wrap up this unearthly long authoress note: When I write stories with O.C.'s in them as main character and in pairings, I tend to think "When I write another romance for this person, so and so has to be their partner!" because it just seems right. For example, I can't write pairings that have Kankurou with anyone but Kyu. It's just right! And I can't write Gaara with anyone but Rynn! (Those four are so perfect together... see what I mean?)

So anyway, getting back to the point, I now can't write Itachi with anyone but Shizuka. I sorry! If you haven't read my fic, _Apprentice, _and have no idea who Shizuka is, that's ok. Her character is the same (like, attitude, looks, general profiles, etc.) but she lives a completely different life. Don't worry. You won't be confused! But if you did read _Apprentice _and like Shizuka's character, I'm sure you'll love this story to death!

Actually, come to think of it, I have yet to meet someone who_ doesn't_ like Shizuka's character... She's very popular in Apprentice.

We'll just have to see, won't we?

But if you don't like it, you know what? You can go suck on five-month-old corn bread for all I care! Flame me if you want! I don't mind this time! I want criticism! Bring it, bee-  
yotchs!

Kyuubi: Calm down, dobe.

Right. Ok! What was I gonna say? ....OH YEAH. The Five are in this (if you don't know who they are, poor you), they didn't die! YAY! But who knows.... they might.... (shifty eyes) I can be bitchy like that. Ok! On with this piece of crap!

P.S.: I'm working with a new kind of word document thingy, so excuse me if the stuff gets messed up a little... It kind of hates me, but it has a spell check so I have to use it so you'll know what I'm saying...

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**Chapter One: Welcome to Freaks and Geeks High!**

"AW, MAN, I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

"Slow down, dobe, it's not going to make a difference."

"Yeah, you're always late anyway, right, Sasuke-kun?"

"....Right...."

"Ano sa, ano sa, Iruka-sensei said he would give me detention if I was late on the first day!"

"How would that be any different from any other day? You always have detention!"

"Sakura-chan...."

The three friends ran/walked-very-quickly toward the tall building that would be serving as their high school for the next four years of their lives. Well, actually... Naruto ran, and Sakura tried her hardest to stay at Sasuke's pace without being late herself. She was a little nervous about what her reputation would be if she were late to school on the first day, but she wanted to be seen taking her first steps into high school life with Sasuke by her side. Her love-life reputation came first! (**Take that, Ino-pig! **Inner-Sakura shouted) Sasuke, however, didn't care if he was late or not, and walked at a decaying snail's pace.

"Sasuke-kun, can I see your schedule?" Sakura asked in her sweetest voice. "I want to know if there's anyone I know in my classes."

He gave her a sideways glance and gave her the piece of yellow paper that had been sent to each student individually in the mail two weeks prior to that day.

Sakura smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She opened the piece of paper and looked through. "Geometry... Social Studies... Biology... English... Language Arts... Gym... You're taking Guitar, Sasuke-kun?" She squealed. "That's so cool!"

(A/N: The schedules used in this fic are based off the ones used at my high school before I left to be home schooled. It was a seven-period (class) day, with six different lunches spread throughout the day, and homeroom was part of the first class. Normally, it came after first period, but in my middle school, it came before, so in this fic, it'll come before. Except for the lunches, it's pretty easy to understand.)

"Ah." Sasuke didn't seem to care.

"We have Geometry, English, Language Arts and Gym together, isn't that great? I have someone I know in almost all my classes!" (A/N: Also, when I say that have "English" class, it's sort of like you would have French or Spanish. Japanese students learn English as a filler-course. "Language Arts" is like what an English class would be for us, they learn grammar and stuff in that) "We have homeroom together, too! Let's go!" Sakura handed him back his schedule.

"Ah."

Naruto was now far ahead of them, running for his life to get past the school doors as quickly as possible, so the two walked by themselves onto the high school grounds. The school was very large, a possible three floors, with large glass double-front doors, several windows, and a stone-carved sign above the doors saying _Welcome to Konoha High. _Because it was a private school, the entire grounds and buildings were fenced off with a huge stone wall, with black ivory gates. The school even had its own drive way, going from the gate, around a small garden fixture, past the front doors, and back to the gates (Kind of like the cul-de-sac drive ways rich people have). The driveway also branched off to a student parking lot, for upper-class men with cars, as well as a separate faculty parking lot for teachers and staff. Already, there were cars parked in the lots, as well as a few hundred students milling around in groups.

"Someone died," Sasuke said bluntly.

"Huh?" Sakura turned to look at him.

He pointed to the driveway. Parked before the school were three long, black limos, all in a row like a funeral procession. "Who died?" he asked Sakura, as if she had all the answers for once.

Sakura shrugged. "Beats me. Look, someone's getting out." She pointed, as well.

Sure enough, someone was getting out of the limo in the front. Quite a few someones, to be exact. The first two to come out of the car looked exactly alike; twins, Sakura presumed. Both had long, lavender-colored hair, tired black eyes, and, to her amusement, green lipstick. They even dressed alike, in black suits, except that one wore a red beaded necklace. They both looked around suspiciously, catching everyone's eyes, before moving to stand by the car.

The third person to come out was slightly taller and much tanner then the other two; in fact, he was about as different from them as he could get. His skin was dark, as aforementioned, and he had dark brown hair pulled into a pony tail much like Sakura and Sasuke's friend Shikamaru's. He wore a suit, just like the twins, except that he wore a bulky black trench coat over top of it. He, also, looked around once before going to stand by the twins.

The fourth person to come out of the car was, quite obviously, a girl, except that she wore a suit and tie just like her fellows. Her hair was long, and a bright red color, and her eyes were dark brown. She wore a beanie-hat, the first sign of casual dress among the four of them, and her bangs hung in her face. She didn't even bother looking around; instead, she jumped up to sit on the edge of the car.

The fifth person to come out seemed to have quite some trouble doing so, though none of his companions seemed ready to help him. When he finally did get out, Sakura and Sasuke saw that he was very tall, at least six feet, and had bright orange hair shaved rather interestingly. Despite his huge size and obvious weight, however, he seemed the most unsure of the five, and had his hands in his pockets, starring at his shoes.

"They look like mobsters," Sakura voiced to Sasuke, who didn't reply.

That appeared to be "it" for the car in front, as the red-haired girl slammed the door shut and hopped down. The twins went to the limo in the middle, and the red-beaded necklace one opened the door while the other reached in. His hand was declined, however, as possibly one of the strangest people yet came out of the car.

Sakura couldn't help but stare. It was a boy, obviously. His hair was longer then the twins', reaching past his shoulders, and looked almost white, with a silver hue. He wore black sunglasses, however, so Sakura couldn't see his eyes, and he wore a plain, white, button-up shirt with the first three buttons undone, and plain black slacks. He looked at the twin who had offered to help him out of the car, and the lavender-head backed off at once. Apparently, the white-haired boy was running things. He then reached in, helping yet another person out of the car.

The last person to get out of the car was a girl. She was shorter then her companions by about a head, and wore the same kind of clothing as the white-haired boy, although her build and curves made it look much more feminine; she had a coat thrown over one arm that she promptly gave to one of the twins. She, also, wore sun glasses, so Sakura couldn't see her eyes, but the girl's hair made Sakura's jaw drop. The girl's hair was long, dark, shiny black, falling at least a foot away from her waist. It was so long, silky-looking and lustered; everything Sakura had hoped her hair could have looked like, before she cut it off in a wave of furious passion against her mom. _Her hair's better then Ino's was before she cut hers off, too!_

Sakura glanced at Sasuke to see if he'd noticed the girl's hair.

**Flashback**

"_Ino-chan, I heard Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair."_

**End flashback**

Sasuke, however, hadn't noticed.

In fact, Sasuke wasn't even there anymore.

He'd started walking away toward the school while Sakura had been starring at the six new kids.

"Sasuke-kun!" she cried, hurrying to catch up with him, all thoughts of the new kids forgotten for the time-being.

**(Homeroom, Geometry)**

"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!"

The students all leaned backwards a few inches, eyebrows raised.

"WELCOME TO GRADE NINE GEOMETRY, MY NAME IS MAITO GAI AND I WILL BE YOUR TEACHER!"

They leaned back even farther.

"BECAUSE TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS, WE SHALL TAKE THIS TIME TO GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER! PLEASE TAKE THIS TIME TO CONGREGATE AMONGST YOURSELVES!" Gai stood back, hands on his hips, grinning hugely. Oh, yeah. He was an awesome teacher. First day of class, and he had every student's attention! Heck yeah, it was good to be alive! Gai went to sit behind his teacher's desk. _And _he had post-it notes! _Beat that, Kakashi!_

Naruto was the first to recover from the initial shock that was Maito Gai. Turning around in his seat, he gave Sakura his confused-fox face. "Oi... Sakura-chan... Are we really gonna have to put up with him every morning?"

Sakura sighed and shrugged, holding her hands up helplessly. "Seems like it."

"Da-a-amn, Naruto whined. "This is gonna be harder then I thought." He sighed unhappily and went to talk to Kiba and Shino, across the room with the other guys.

_He's got a point... This teacher is scary... _Sakura shivered, looking away from Gai's uber-eyebrows.

"Why, Sakura, I didn't see you there," said a taunting voice beside her. "Now, how could I have missed that forehead?"

Sakura turned and glared. "Ino."

Ino smirked, then leaned over and whispered, in a different tone, "Did you see those limos outside?"

Sakura nodded. "Sasuke-kun and I were just coming when the people got out."

"Who do you think they are?" Ino asked, looking almost worried. "They looked like members of a gang or something."

Sakura shrugged. "Probably just some rich kids who had to arrive in style, like Hinata." She turned and winked at her friend, who was seated behind Ino.

Hinata instantly blushed, twiddling her fingers. "M-My father likes to drop me off on the first day of school..."

"In a _Cadillac_?" Ino gave her an optimistic look.

Hinata blushed even deeper, and didn't respond, looking at her fingers.

"Anyway, Sakura." Ino turned back to her friend. "I heard that girl's dad when to talk to the head mistress about 'security purposes' or something. They gotta be important, or there wouldn't be any need for security."

Sakura shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she's a princess," she suggested, to show she honestly wasn't taking Ino seriously. Turning back to Hinata, she asked, "Hinata, you still like Naruto, right?"

"Shh, please, Sakura," Hinata said in a pleading voice, casting a nervous glance to where the blond-haired boy in question was talking loudly with Kiba, who was talking back, just as loudly.

"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" Sakura gave her shy friend a smile. "Will you at least try and drop him some bigger hints this year? He's so dense, he wouldn't pick up on it even if you hit him over the head with a book entitled _All About Hyuuga Hinata's Crush_!"

"What about you, Sakura?" Ino asked, smirking again. "Are you still going after Sasuke-kun?"

"Hell _yeah_," Sakura said, as if Ino were stupid.

"Well, tough luck, girl, because this year, Sasuke-kun's gonna be mine!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... That's what you said last year, and the year before, and every year before that since first grade." Sakura shook her head.

"I'm serious this time!"

"Uh-huh."

"No, really!"

"I believe you."

"I'M TELLING THE TRUTH, DAMMIT!"

"MISS YAMANAKA, WHY ARE WE USING SUCH PROFOUND LANGUAGE?"

Dead silence.

_E-Eye brows.... _Ino shivered.

**(Biology)**

(Yes, I skipped a class... I hate Social Studies)

Sakura sighed, looking around the new class room. She wasn't sure if she would know anyone in this class. The teacher, a pretty woman named Kurenai, had already assigned them to seats, so Sakura had no control over who she sat next to, unlike her past two classes. Looking around again, she noticed someone sitting down next to her.

It was the black-haired girl from that morning, as well as the white-hair boy and the twin with the beaded necklace, all sitting in a row beside Sakura.

"Hi! I'm Haruno Sakura!" Sakura said before she could think, offering her hand to the black-haired girl.

In one movement, all three of the newcomers turned to look at Sakura. The boys wore expressionless faces, looking hard at Sakura, while the young girl smiled and took Sakura's hand. "I'm Hakai-teki no Shizuka."

_She doesn't seem so bad... _Sakura thought as the girl called Shizuka smiled at her while taking out a rubber band and tying her long, black hair with it.

**Flashback**

"_I heard that girl's dad talked to the head mistress about 'security purpose.' They gotta be important, or there wouldn't be any need for security."_

**End flashback**

_Screw you, Ino, this girl seems nice, _Sakura thought haughtily. "You know your name means 'destruction'?"

Shizuka nodded, finishing with her hair and smiled. "Yep. Apparently, I was a very destructive little kiddie, so these people," she nodded to the boys sitting next to her, "just started calling me 'Miss Destruction,' and eventually, it caught on." She grinned again.

"Shizuka-sama," the lavender-haired boy said in a warning voice.

"Shut up," she said angrily to him, then turned back to Sakura. "This is Sakkon. He's almost too gay to function." (Copied from _Mean Girls._)

"No, I'm not!" the boy named Sakkon snapped as Sakura giggled.

"And this is Kimi-kun–Er, Kimimaru," Shizuka finished, gesturing to the white-haired boy sitting next to her. "He's kind of my brother."

"'Kind of'?" Sakura repeated, grinning as well. This girl was interesting.

"Yeah. I've known him for about as long as I can remember, and my dad is his legal guardian, so I just call him my brother." Shizuka shrugged.

"Oh." Sakura leaned over to say to Sakkon, "You know, you look really old. Are you in the right grade?"

He glared at her and looked away.

"He got held back," Shizuka supplied, grinning as well. "Four years. He's just stupid like that."

Sakura giggled again; Sakkon scoffed and said out of the corner of his mouth, "Che."

"Stop it, Shizuka," Kimimaru said, speaking for the first time.

"You stop it," she countered, giving him a little shove.

He shoved her back.

Shove.

Shove.

Shove.

SHOVE.

SHOVE!

SHOVE!!

By now, it had turned into an all-out war of little baby-slaps while they held their faces away from each other (you know, like, how preps fight? Yeah.). Sakkon covered his eyes with his hand and emitted a groan.

Finally, the two seemed to have run out of breath (although Kimimaru's face didn't change during the whole thing) and they stopped.

Shizuka and Sakura continued talking about random stuff (i.e.: how much the school sucked (which high school does, by the way)) until they started talking about music. While Sakura didn't really have a preference, and listened to all kinds of music, Shizuka was a die-hard Metal fan, and found it appalling when Sakura said she'd never really listened to a song by a metal-music band before.

"Oh, my god, you have to listen to this song!" Shizuka, still starring in disbelief at Sakura, held out her hand blindly to Sakkon, waiting for him to give her something.

Sakkon looked at the back of Shizuka's head, then at the hand, then back at the head, and gave the hand a low-five.

"My CD player, dip shit!" Shizuka snapped, turning to glare at him.

"Language, Hakai-teki," Kurenai said from behind her desk where she was doing all that teacher stuff.

"Sorry, sensei," Shizuka said in a sweet voice as Sakkon rolled his eyes and took a portable CD player out of one of the pockets of his jacket and put it in her hand. "Here." She gave the head phones to Sakura and turned on the CD player.

Sakura put the ear pieces in her ear in time to have a cruel, loud, angry voice shout, "_CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES, THIS IS MY LAST RESORT, SUFFOCATION, NO BREATHING, DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF I CUT MY ARM BLEEDING!_" and a hard drum and guitar solo. "Ack!" Sakura ripped the ear pieces out of her ear, startled by the sudden noise.

"Oh... Oops." Shizuka grinned sheepishly."Sorry. I normally have the volume really loud, and–"

"Hakai-teki, is that a CD player I see?" Kurenai asked, looking up.

"Yep." Shizuka turned down the volume for Sakura.

"Do I have to confiscate it?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" Kurenai raised an eyebrow at Shizuka.

"Because to be honest, I don't think you want this CD." Shizuka gave Kurenai a smirk.

A vein popped out in Kurenai's forehead, and she jumped up at once, going to Shizuka and snatching up the CD player. "You can have a parent pick this up after school."

Shizuka's jaw dropped. Then she scowled. "Oh, they'll pick it up, alright," she said haughtily.

**(After class)**

"That bitch!" Shizuka shouted for the fourteenth time, storming out of the class room with Sakkon and Kimimaru on her tail and Sakura by her side. Stopping in the middle of the hall amongst the huge crowds of people, she took out her schedule and examined it. "Ok... English, room 221..." She looked around for directional signs.

Sakkon looked at his schedule. "I don't have that," he informed them. "I have Calc. Do you guys want me to walk you or...?"

"No, that's ok." Shizuka was now examining Kimimaru's schedule. "Kimi and I have all the same classes, so we can walk ourselves."

Sakkon shrugged. "Ok. One of the others will probably be in your class. I'll see you guys in Gym." He gave them a wave over his shoulder as he headed down the hall in search of his Calculus class.

"Hey, I have English 221 next!" Sakura cried out, looking at her schedule. "With Sasuke-kun," she added with an excited squeak, clasping her hands together. "We can all go together!"

Shizuka shrugged. "Ok, that's cool. Who's Sasuke-kun?"

"Ohh...." Sakura got a dreamy look on her face as they waded through the crowds of people. "He's the most perfect guy! He's tall... dark... silent... so cute! I've had a crush on him since first grade!"

"...That's scary." Shizuka shivered slightly. "Damn, where is this freakin' class?" she cried out, stopping in the middle of the hallway. On one side, there was room 300. On the other, there was room 315. "This is too confusing!" she shouted angrily, pulling at her hair and running around in circles.

THUD.

Shizuka fell back on her butt on the floor, wincing in pain. "Hey, watch where you're going!" she shouted at the person she'd run into.

"I should be saying the same thing to you.."

Sakura's eyes widened. She knew that voice... sort of... Well, she knew the younger version of that voice. Looking up at the tall boy standing in front of Shizuka, she stifled a gasp. _He looks just like Sasuke-kun!_

It was true. Except for a rather large height difference and hair-length, the boy did look exactly like Sasuke, with longer, dark hair, mean onyx eyes framed with thick eyelashes, and a way of carrying himself that made you think you really shouldn't mess with him. Shizuka, however, did not get that message, and jumped up, glaring at him. "You got something to say to me?!"

"...Are you lost?" he asked by way of answer, giving her a condescending look.

"No!" Shizuka shouted, a temper-vein popping out in her forehead, not unlike Kurenai's temper vein.

"Fine. I _was_ going to offer assistance, but I guess I'll just be on my way..." The boy turned on his heel.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" Shizuka pulled him back, turning on her sweet smile which Sakura had learned (in a rather short amount of time) was her "suck up" face. "Could you please help us find our class, dear, delightful Mr Upperclassman?

The boy gave her an emotionless stare before taking her schedule. "Where are you going?"

"Room 221," Sakura answered. "Language Arts."

"That's in the New wing," the boy said. He had a low, quiet voice, but it was easy to hear him at close rang, especially since most of the student body was gone from the halls by now.

"..." Shizuka waited for him to continue.

"It's downstairs." He gave her the schedule back.

"_Where_ downstairs, jerk-off?!" Shizuka shouted, waving her arms angrily.

"Oh." He turned to the stairwell behind them, pointing. "Take these stairs down one flight and you'll see another hallway branching off. Take that hallway until you get to the first and only turn, room's third one on your left."

"Thank you!" Shizuka gave him another "suck up" smile and pulled Kimimaru and Sakura towards the stairs.

"Where were you?" called the other lavender-haired twin (Sakura could tell because he didn't wear a necklace) when Kimimaru, Shizuka and Sakura finally got to the class room.

"We couldn't find the damn room, ok, get off my back," Shizuka snapped, sitting down next to him with Kimimaru on her other side. Sakura glanced around for Sasuke and found, to her immediate delight, that he was sitting three seats down from the lavender-  
haired twin, making it so she could sit next to him, but also be next to her new friends.

Giving Kimimaru a friendly little smile, she sat down between the two boys; his eyes, still out of sight behind sun glasses, as were Shizuka's, flicked over to her briefly before looking away.

_Man... Another guy who doesn't talk... _She groaned and turned to Sasuke, smiling. "Ohayo, Sasuke-kun!"

"Hn."

(SNG: Oh crap! Speaking of school work, I have to do mine! Cra-a-a-ap... The only bad thing about home-school is no one is there to tell you when to do your work... I'll go do mine while I try to get more inspiration, okies? Ok, be back in about twenty minutes (I don't have that much work))

(Five minutes later, SNG finishes her work (pre-tests rock!))

(Nevermind! Ok, back to the fic! I have inspiration now!)

"Hello, welcome to grade nine English!" said the teacher with a smile. He was moderately tall, with a high black ponytail and a thin scar across his nose. "My name is Iruka–"

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" called a loud voice from the front of the room. Instantly, there was cheering; Iruka was a very popular teacher.

Sakura groaned, recognizing the loud voice.

"Iruka-sensei, I was on time today! No detention for me, no sirree bob!" Naruto grinned hugely at his favorite teacher and mentor.

Iruka feigned disappointment as the lavender-haired boy suddenly called, "Hey! I'm not in 9th grade! I'm a senior!"

"I'm in 10th grade," said a dark-haired, long-haired boy with pale blue eyes, sitting towards the middle of the classroom.

"Really?" Iruka looked down at his attendance book. "Oh... So you're Otaki Ukon, 12th grade, and Hyuuga Neji, 10th? My mistake." He smiled at the lavender-haired boy. "Correction, students, this is a multi-grade English class. There's no work for today, but I'd like you all to fill out these information sheets so I can know more about you." He began passing out stacks of blue paper to each row of desks.

"How did you find the class? It wasn't that hard," the senior named Ukon asked, giving Shizuka the blue papers in turn.

"Oh. This ugly jerk-off gave us directions," Shizuka answered, taking one of the papers and passing the rest to Kimimaru.

"He wasn't ugly," Sakura said in defense, thinking of how much the boy looked like her precious Sasuke-kun.

"Oh? You like him?" Shizuka turned to look at Sakura.

Sakura flushed. "No, I thought he was really rude."

"Because he was, Sakura, where were you?" Shizuka leaned over so she could see who Sakura was sitting next to. "Oh, is that Sasuke? Hi, Sasuke!" She waved.

"Hn."

Shizuka scowled, looking for something to throw at him; the something turned out to be the desk. "Hey! I said 'hi' now you say 'hi' back!" she shouted, pulling the desk off the nearly-unconscious Sasuke.

"Hakai-teki, go stand in the hall like that," Iruka instructed.

"Huh?" Shizuka looked at him.

**(A minute or so later)**

_Damn him, _Shizuka thought angrily, standing with the desk over her head, like she had been standing when he instructed her to go out into the hall.

Shizuka looked up when she heard quiet foot steps. The tall, dark-haired boy who had given her directions walked past, one hand in the pocket of his baggy black pants, the other holding a pass. He didn't say anything as he walked past, and didn't even give her a glance, although her eyes followed him under her sunglasses until he went around the corner.

"JERK-OFF!" she shouted, once he was out of sight.

"At least I'm not _dense,_" he called around the corner.

_Grr... I hate people like him!_ she thought angrily, going back to concentrating on not letting the desk fall on her face.

**(Ten minutes later)**

"Are you ready to behave?" Iruka asked, leaning his head out the door of the classroom.

"Yes..." Shizuka mumbled, owing to the fact that she couldn't feel her arms anymore.

"Alright. Come on in and eat lunch." Iruka smiled at her and opened the door so she could carry her desk back in.

Shizuka groaned, plopping down in her chair and rubbing her arms. "Jesus what a cruel fuckin' teacher.."

"What was that, Hakai-teki?"

"Nothing, nothing!" She gave Iruka a grin, then turned back to Ukon, who gave her a _bento _box and a pair of chopsticks.

**(After class)**

"Hmm..." Sakura examined her schedule, standing in the usual huddle with Shizuka; Ukon, Kimimaru and Sasuke stood behind their respective female leaders, examining their own schedules. Well... Ukon examined his. Sasuke knew where he was going and just had to wait for Sakura, since they were going to the same class. Kimimaru knew he just had to follow Shizuka. "Language Arts, room 105 for us."

"Social Studies, 137." Shizuka folded up her schedule and looking around.

"Tayuya and Kidoumaru are probably in that class," Ukon said, looking at his schedule. He sighed. "I have Physics with Sakkon upstairs. I'll see you guys in Gym, ok? Don't get in trouble."

"Ah, shut up," Shizuka snapped, rolling her eyes. "See you guys later," she said to Sasuke and Sakura before leaving with Kimimaru.

**(Language Arts)**

"...And she seems totally normal, I don't think it's really anything to think about." Sakura finished explaining what she had found out about Shizuka and her friends to Ino.

Ino, however, was still frowning. "It just doesn't make sense. Why would her dad have to talk to the head mistress?"

"She's probably a foreign exchange student, they did look a little weird." Sakura shrugged it off, thinking of Kimimaru's white hair.

"It doesn't make sense."

"Huh?" Sakura and Ino turned to Sasuke, who had finally spoken, after listening to their conversation. "What doesn't make sense, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

"That Ukon guy was in 12th grade, right?"

"Yeah..."

"And he and that Sakkon guy are probably twins?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Then what were both of them doing in freshmen classes?" Sasuke turned to look at her.

"Shizuka said that Sakkon was held back..."

"What about Ukon? He said before he left that he had to go to Physics _with Sakkon._ What kind of person who was held back a few years, has a Physics class?"

Sakura frowned, thinking. He was right, of course. It didn't make all that much sense. "I'm sure they have their reasons," she said in her new friends' defenses. But, deep down, she was starting to get slightly confused and even a little suspicious, as well...

**(Gym)**

"Hey, Shizuka," Sakura said when the black-haired girl came down the locker aisles with the red-haired girl in tow. "How old are your friends?"

"My friends?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you mean, like, Sakkon and Kimimaru?"

Sakura nodded, getting ready to change into her gym uniform. Gym was the only class they had to do anything in on the first day, for some reason, so they had to get dressed.

"Um..." Shizuka frowned, opening her locker, which was a few lockers down from Sakura's, and started unbuttoning her white shirt. "Sakkon and Ukon are both eighteen, Kidoumaru is almost eighteen, Jiroubou is seventeen, and so is Tayuya." She nodded towards the red-haired girl, whose locker was across the aisle from Sakura's and Shizuka's. The girl named Tayuya just scoffed a little and looked away. "Yeah. And Kimimaru's my age. Why?"

Sakura shrugged, pulling on her gym shirt, which was a white tank-top with the school's crest in the upper-right hand corner. "Just wondering." She glanced down at her skirt while Shizuka changed. _9th grade gym,_ she read off her schedule.

After everyone was dressed for gym, they all went out to the gymnasium, waiting for the teacher, the boys on one side of the huge room, the girls on the other, except for Shizuka and her five friends, who sat on the bleachers and talked amongst themselves. Sakura noticed that, while all the other boys were dressed for gym, the boy with the high ponytail still wore his trench coat, with his uniform on underneath. Shizuka still wore her sunglasses.

When the teacher finally did come, the girls saw at once why they had to get dressed on the first day.

"Go-o-o-o-o-o-od morning, ladies!" Jiraiya called, grinning hugely and eyeballing the girls.

The girls all winced. "G-Good morning... sensei..."

The boys all groaned and sat down. They knew they wouldn't have to do anything for today.

"Alright, kiddies, rugby time!"

The boys all jumped up, cheering.

"Come on, guys, get off the bleachers!" Jiraiya called to the six kids on the bleachers. They rolled their eyes and went to stand in the crowd. "Hey, you!" He pointed at Shizuka.

She looked slightly surprised, although it was hard to tell, with her sunglasses. "Me?" She pointed to herself.

"Yeah! You be team-captain of team Sugar-lips, ok?" Jiraiya leered at her for a few minutes in her gym shorts and tank top.

"Um... Ok..." _Team Sugar-lips? The fuck?_

"And you!" He pointed at Ino. "You be the captain of team Kick-My-Butt, ok?"

"What?! Are you tryin' to say something, old man?!" Ino shouted angrily.

"Alright, now, chose your teams! Sugar-lips goes first!"

"Sasuke," Shizuka said at once, giving Ino an evil glare. Sakura had told Shizuka about Ino, so she'd picked Sasuke first, just to spite her.

Ino glared back. "Purple-haired-guy-with-beaded-necklace," she countered.

Sakkon rolled his eyes and went to stand a fair distance away from Ino, but close enough that his team could be determined. He had a name, and he knew it, but she didn't, and it would be fun watching her try to say "purple-haired-guy-with-beaded-necklace" fifty-million times during the game.

"Sakura," Shizuka said, pulling her friend to her.

"Shikamaru," Ino countered, taking the other intellectual mind.

"Kidoumaru!" Shizuka snapped. The guy with the ponytail and trench coat went to stand next to her.

"Shino!"

"Neji!" Sakura hissed in Shizuka's ear.

"Neji!" Shizuka said before she could think. "Wait, why?" she asked as the tall, long-  
haired boy went to stand next to them, arms crossed, looking harassed.

"Because he's smart," Sakura answered as Ino claimed Hinata.

"Oh... Ukon!"

"TenTen!"

"Lee!" (Under Sakura's instruction)

"Chouji!" (Under Shikamaru's grumbling)

"Kiba!"

"Red-haired-sumo-wrestler-guy!"

"Tayuya!"

The teams went as follows:

Team Sugar-lips:

Shizuka

Neji

Sasuke

Tayuya

Sakura

Kiba

Kidoumaru

Lee

Ukon

Team Kick-My-Butt:

Ino

Naruto

Hinata

Shino

Chouji

Shikamaru

TenTen

Sakkon

Jiroubou

"Ok!" Jiraiya, who was playing referee, said, sitting on the bleachers, tossing in the ball. "Sic 'em."

The game lasted for about a half hour. Team Sugar-Lips won, mainly because Shizuka always scored. But it must be said, Shizuka really kind of sucked at the game, and always nearly got tackled by the other team, but never was, since one of her five personal "friends" always got in and protected her, even if it meant tackling someone on the same team as them. More then once, Sakkon had dragged the spitefull, Sasuke-deprived Ino to the floor when she tried to tackle Shizuka.

"That was fun!" Shizuka said cheerfully as the girls headed back into the locker rooms.

"Yeah... fun..." Ino muttered sarcastically, warily tapping a bruise and wincing.

"Hey, where was Kimimaru?" Sakura asked, opening her locker. "He wasn't on the teams."

"He doesn't like gym," Shizuka answered with a shrug. "He signed up, but probably stayed in the boy's locker room."

"Isn't that, like, skipping?"

"I dunno. I never thought about it." Shizuka shrugged, taking off her tank top and slipping on her button-up shirt.

"I'm confused, though," Sakura said with a frown, pulling on her cut-off jeans. "How come Neji and Lee were in gym? They're sophomores, aren't they?"

"People on team sports have to take gym every year," Jiraiya supplied, strutting in the girls' locker room like he owned the place. "Neji's on the J.V. soccer team, and Lee is in gymnastics and lacrosse."

Girls: O.o

Jiraiya: (grin) Yo!

"PERVERT!" the girls screamed, throwing every available solid object at the old man (i.e.: books, binders, bags, lockers, etc.)

"Where's the pervert?!" Sakkon and Ukon shouted, throwing open the door to the girls locker room and coming in with just their gym shorts on, having rushed from changing, themselves.

Girls: O.o

Sakkon&Ukon: O.O .... O,.O (nosebleed)

"TWIN PERVERTS!"

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!" the twins shouted, running from the room, holding their noses and dragging Jiraiya by the ankles while Shizuka threw a bench at their heads.

K.O.!

**(After everyone is dressed)**

"I'm telling you, it was an accident!" Sakkon shouted, adjusting the tissue he'd stuffed in his nose to stop the blood.

"You saw us _naked_!" Shizuka shouted, beating him and Ukon across the head with their own jackets.

"We came in because you were screaming 'pervert, pervert'!" Ukon said in a mocking, squeaking voice, flaying his arms in a bad imitation of a girl.

"Don't you know to knock before going in a girls locker room?!" she shouted, continually beating them, although they seemed not to notice.

Finally, after Shizuka was done beating the twins, she and Sakura examined schedules again. "I have Fashion Strategies, 159," Sakura said.

"You need it, forehead-girl," Ino taunted as she walked by.

Sakura just glared. _She_ had gotten to play on the same team as Sasuke. _Ino _had played on the same team as two fat-asses. Sakura was having a good day.

"We're right next door," Shizuka said, nodding to Kimimaru, who had miraculously appeared as soon as gym was over. "Guitar, 158."

"I have Guitar, 158," Sasuke muttered, looking at his schedule.

"Awesome! We can all walk together!" Sakura said happily.

She and Shizuka looked expectantly at Kidoumaru, Jiroubou, Tayuya and the twins.

"Foods & Nutrition," Jiroubou mumbled before walking away.

"Health," the twins said together, before going to the New Wing.

"Music & Technology," Tayuya grumped, stalking away.

"I have no clue," Kidoumaru answered, looking at his schedule. "Oh. Calc. Later." He waved and went across the gymnasium to the other stairs, as it was closer.

Sasuke spent most of the walk to their next class giving Sakura very pointed looks. Sakura just shrugged and kept walking.

**(Guitar)**

"Look, guys," Kakashi said with a sigh, looking up from his book. "Just make nice, pretty music, ok? If you make a lot of bad music, I'll give you a B." He looked back at what appeared to be a music book. However, Sasuke had never heard of a music book that made grown men giggle and blush.

He shook it off, however, and picked up the guitar the school was lending him (A/N: In my guitar class, each student got their own guitar that they used during class; each of the guitars was used by different classes throughout the day, though, so it wasn't really ours...) and started plucking the strings in a bored sort of way, not really paying attention to the music; instead, he listened in on Kimimaru's and Shizuka's conversation, still rather curious about the two.

"Come ok, Kimi-kun, sing it," Shizuka was pleading, pulling on her "brother's" shirt.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Later?"

"Maybe."

"Ok." Apparently satisfied with this answer, Shizuka took out her notebook, the only thing she'd carried with her all day, and started doing the homework Iruka had assigned. After a few moments of starring at the paper, pencil poised over it, ready to write, she suddenly shouted, "I have no clue what this crap is!" and started pulling on her hair.

Sasuke chuckled quietly to himself. He knew what it was; it was simply conjugating verbs. But was he going to help Shizuka? Scoff! _No. Let her figure it out..._

"I can help you..."

_...Or not_, Sasuke finished, looking back to see Neji giving Shizuka a blank look; however, there was no doubt that he was the one who made the offer.

Shizuka looked relieved. "Really? You will?"

Neji nodded. "I've had Iruka since grade school, and he always gives homework on the first day. It's easy."

"...Oh yeah, you're in my class, aren't you?"

He nodded.

"You're the sophomore, aren't you? What are you doing in a freshman class?"

"I needed it to fill up my schedule."

"Oh." She grinned, scooting her chair closer to his. "Ok, what's this crap mean?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as the older boy began explaining how to conjugate English verbs like "to have" and "to be." It was a simple process, and Neji made his explanation very clear, but when Shizuka continued to give him a "Duh..." look, her sunglasses slightly lop-sided, he sighed and kept explaining.

**(After class)**

"I still don't get it," Shizuka said with a sigh as she, Kimimaru, Sasuke and Neji exited the class together.

"I understood it," Kimimaru said quietly, "all fifteen times he tried to explain."

Shizuka glared. Then she sighed as the four waited fo Sakura. "I'm gonna fail that class... I know it..."

"I could tutor you, if you want," Neji offered, shifting so he held his notebook in one hand with his other hand in the pocket of his baggy black shorts (the kind that skater boys wear).

"Really?" Shizuka asked, giving him her "suck up" smile as Sakura finally came out of the classroom.

"Oh, god, now what do you want from someone?" Sakura feigned annoyance. Then, she laughed at the look Shizuka gave her. "I'm kidding."

Shizuka rolled her eyes and turned back to Neji as the five of them walked down the hall. "Will you, really?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

She grinned. "Cool! Can you come over my house today?"

Again, he shrugged. "Sure."

Kimimaru gave her an optimistic look, as if unsure this were a good decision.

"Oh, shut up," she said, then turned and grinned at Sasuke and Sakura. "You can all come over!"

By this time, Sakkon and Ukon had joined them. "Uh, no," Ukon said at once.

Sakura turned and double-deuched him. "Screw off, you fag," she said coldly.

"Ok, one, 'fag' is not a nice word. I can understand 'fuck' and 'shit,' but 'fag' is _not _nice," Ukon said. "Second, your father is going to murderlize you."

"No, he won't," she snapped, sticking her tongue out.

Sakkon sighed. "She's right," he said with a sigh to his brother.

Ukon groaned. "Jeez... this whole thing fuckin' sucks. Fine, they can come. But if you get chewed out, don't blame us."

"Ok, ok." Shizuka rolled her eyes, stopping in front of a locker. "You all go on ahead, I'm going to get my coat." She gave Sakkon a warning glare. "They better all be in one piece and untraumatized when I get out there."

Sakkon just rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." He and his brother led Shizuka's 'company' out to where the black limos were waiting for them.

Shizuka grinned a little and turned back to her locker. _Ok... 14... 16... 26. _She pulled on the handle.

Nothing.

"Huh?" She entered the combination again.

Nothing.

"Aw, come on!" Getting a little annoyed, she entered the combination and yanked on the handle. "Come on! 14-16-26! Do it!" Bracing her foot against the other lockers, she pulled on the handle. "Come on, work! Work! Arrrgh!"

"Don't talk to lockers."

"Huh?" She turned.

The tall, dark-haired boy who had given her directions and called her 'dense' looked down at her with a long, blank expression that was completely devoid of emotion. "Having trouble again?"

"No!" She snapped, turning back around and entering the combination again.

After a few minutes of trial and failure, the boy rolled his eyes and pushed her out of the way. He then proceeded to rap his knuckles on six different places on the locker-door in a sort of rhythmic pattern.

"What's that? Some kind of upperclassmen trick?" she asked, looking like she thought it was the cheesiest thing she ever saw.

"Yeah. That and the combination." He twisted the little knob, entered her combination, and opened the door.

She raised an eyebrow. "How did you know my combination?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to miss when you scream it at an inanimate object," he said with a shrug, taking out her coat and giving it to her. She put it on without a word and started to walk away, but was stopped by his hand on her shoulder. "And now you say..." he prompted her.

She scoffed, pushing his hand off. "Like hell I'm gonna thank you! You insulted me, you dickhead! You have to apologize to me before I thank you!" And with that, she stalked away out the doors to where two limos were waiting for her.

Itachi smirked, watching hr leave. _Interesting..._ He wiped his face of expression again, however, as a group of Juniors walked by; slamming her locker door shut he stalked outside towards the student parking lock, reaching for his keys.

* * *

Yay! First chapter done! 

Ok, good, horse shit? Tell me! Review!

But before you answer that, I know, I know, ok, no Itachi-lovin'... YET! But, seriously, do you think he'd warm up all that quickly to a girl he just met who called him 'jerk-off' ? Let's be realistic of his character, people!

OK, let's see... Important facts to remember... Um... Yeah, Sasuke and Itachi don't have Sharingen, as you can probably tell... Neji and Hinata ARE related, but don't have the Byakugan (Does everyone agree with me that 'Byakugan' is so awesome to say and Hinata sounds cooler when she says it?)... Basically, everyone is completely normal... Well... Sort of. If you know what Shizuka looks like (without sunglasses) you know what I'm talking about... (Cheesy grin)

That was really long... Mainly because I wanted to go through every important class Sakura and Sasuke had during the day. I guess most of my chapters will be this long... This'll probably be a long fic, too. I likies long fics! Especially long fics that have a lot of reviews!

I'll tell you a secret: I actually sort of wrote this first chapter before I even finished asking for votes. (Sweatdrop) In fact, I thought of this fic about six months ago, before I developed the story-line for _Apprentice,_ after I started writing _A Night To Remember. _So, yeah, this idea has been decaying in my head for half a year! O.o

So, if we're being totally honest here, Itachi really, has been my favorite character, after the Sand-nins, for a really long time. I dunno, I'm just sort of drawn to long-haired, S-  
Classed criminals!

No, wait... He's my favorite before the Sand-nins, yup. Lol. I SORRY! (But, seriously, couldn't you tell when _Apprentice _was getting multi-million chapters, and _Genius In Love _was getting, like, zip?)


	2. I Don't Need Anyone!

**Crimson Love

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**

Ok when I first wrote this, I was pissed because I only got 3-4 reviews. But now I am happy. I got 9! (Kenshin grin) Here's my responses... Don't really have that much to say... (Responses to Apprentice reviews are at the end of the chapter)

**narutoyuyufan:** Ty! (Kenshin grin) I'll try and work on _Apprentice_, too, but I warn you... I'm totally not good at writing two stories at once. Just look at _Apprentice _compared to _Genius In Love._ But if it's two fics that I really like, like this one and _Apprentice_, I try my hardest. Okies?

**RedLotus and IceHunterNin: **_Are_ there going to be any other pairings? Hm. Maybe, maybe not. Read this chapter and then ask me that question again, if you can. Lol. Yeah, thank you, I fixed the genre. I just kind of thought this would be a dramatic thing (but then again I guess all fics are dramatic, ne?). Oh my gosh, I am totally not a Sakura-hater! God, no, I mean... Yes, she could think of something other then Sasuke, and sometimes I think she's a little selfish concerning him, but... No, I don't hate her! Sakura is my favorite Naruto girlie! (P.S: Nothing makes me happier then hearing someone will review for all my chapters! -glomp-)

**HinatasBiggestFanBoy**: Ty for correcting me on Kimi's name. I checked, and you're right, it is an 'o' not a 'u'. In the translation I got, the type made it look like a 'u' since it was all caps, but I checked, and it's an 'o'. Ty! I fixed it!

**SilentAdaon:** I'm so glad someone's happy to see Shizuka! She's a very popular O.C. for me, ne? Of course I have a plan for Tayuya! (I have two, actually, and I'm not sure how people will react; let's just say, red-heads go with red-heads, and leave it at that) I like it when people don't know how my fics are going to go, because...Yeah. I like being unpredictable. Lol, R&R!!

**KageNoKatana:** Um... Apprentice is solely focused on Shizuka (sort of) and it's pretty damn popular... Lol. I know what's supposed to happen in Genius in Love, like, I know exactly how it's going to end and I know how everyone reacts and everything. So, yeah. But I can always use help! (Look at me, talking like I'm professional...)

**Dragonman180:** Yeah, I feel sorry for them, too... (cough cough) The thing with the locker is that, like I said in Apprentice, my O.C.'s are just like me. And I can never get my locker open. But, yeah, it was one of those "Know-the-school" things... Lol.

**Xl-twisted-lx: **Okies, here you go! (Kenshin grin) R&R!!

**SkyBlueSunShine: **(looks at you oddly) DUH she was spoiled! Dude, where have you been? Shizuka is always spoiled, she's like, brat of the century. But we love her anyway. Lol. Yes. Itachi is the cool. Knows-all upperclassman. HELL YEAH!

Speaking of Apprentice (this is kind of relevant if you read the last chapter) I was listening to the song _Duality_ by Slipknot, and I was like O.o because they sounded so good! The guitar parts were so damn good! But then again, with 9 members, I guess they have to sound great, ne? I've only heard them do that one song, but I fell in love with it. The guy who sings it (I know nothing about Slipknot -.-') has a nice, sexy deep voice, ne? Lol. Hey, I'm a girl, ok, I think these things, get used to it! Anyway, I downloaded it as an AMV from anime music videos dot org, and it was so good! I got my own account now so I can download everything I want. _Duality _was a tribute to Neji (so fitting) and I also got one for Neji, _Session _by Linkin Park. They were both so well-done! I'm jealous... sigh... Oh well, I get to watch them whenever I want!

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Two: I Don't Need Anyone!**

Sakura looked around the inside of the limo as Ukon helped her in; it had plain black leather seats, and was built basically just like your average stretch limo, with a TV in the corner, an ice box with drinks, and buttons galore. She didn't have a chance to push them, however, as Kimimaro came in right after her and informed her that she was in "his seat." So, with a sad sigh, she sat on the other seat, in a buttonless world.

But, on the bright side, Sasuke sat next to her. (Inner-Sakura: **Hell yeah! Today is a good day to be alive!**) Kimimaro scooted over to the corner of the other seat, starring out the window, and Neji perched himself on the corner of the seat Kimimaro was sitting on, ready to get up when Shizuka came so she could get in.

They didn't have long to wait, as Shizuka stalked out of the building, looking especially peeved. Sakura could see her muttering darkly to herself, and, once, Shizuka stopped to kick a trash can, shouting something along the lines of "Jerk-off!" When she finally reached the car, Neji got out and let her go in before him, like a little gentleman, and then climbed in himself, so Shizuka was sitting between him and Kimimaro. Sakkon then closed the door, and he and his brother went to the other car.

Shizuka turned to Kimimaro, giving him an imploring look. "Now will you sing it? It's later!"

"..." He gave her a look that implied pure hatred, but she didn't seem to pick up on it, just as she hadn't picked up on the dark-haired upperclassman's "Don't mess with me" look. "...Fine," he said with a huff, looking back out of the window.

"Yay!" She glomped him quickly, then reached up and pressed a button above her head.

A low guitar solo filled the back seat of the car, followed by a rhythmic drum beat. Sakura was slightly startled when she heard a soft, quiet voice singing... in the car!

"_Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear_," Kimimaro sang in a low, clear voice, "_And I, I can't help but ask myself how much I let the fear.. Take the wheel and steer.. It's driven me before, but it seems to have a vague, haunting mass appeal.. But lately I am beginning to feel.. That I should be the one behind the wheel.._"

At this point, Kimimaro's voice picked up, gaining strength, and he sang in a much clearer voice: _"Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there, with open arms and open eyes.. Whatever tomorrow brings... I'll be there, I'll be there..._"

Shizuka switched off songs, letting Kimimaro sing several randomly selected peices as they drove. Eventually, Sakura picked up on the words and sang along as best she could, and no one seemed to mind that she didn't really know the words. Neji was tapping his foot ever so slightly to the rhythm of the drums, and Sasuke was smirking a little.

Finally, the car stopped, after about a half hour of Sakura and Shizuka having a battle of the D.J.'s, alternating the song selections. At one point, Sakura found a track of "Look At Them Now," a D.D.R. song that she happened to like, and decided to play it, until Shizuka realized what she was playing, and screamed in utmost, overly-dramatic agony, clawing at her ears.

The driver came around and opened the door. "This is it, Shizuka-sama, Kimimaro-sama."

Shizuka nodded, pushing Kimimaro out of the car. "Thanks," she said, getting out herself and waiting for her company to come out of the car. "This is my house," she told the three newcomers.

Shizuka's "house" was surrounded by a huge, red wall and huge gates; on the gates was a huge picture of a snake barring it's fangs. Sakura took a moment or so to admire the awesomeness of it before Tayuya pressed a button next to a speaker by the gates and said into the speaker, "Tayuya here. We're back from school."

"Alright, come on it," crackled the voice from the other side of the speaker as the gates eased open about five feet wide, just big enough to let them in.

Shizuka turned and grinned. "Come on."

Sakura grinned back, following the seven past the opened gates, closely followed by Sasuke and Neji.

In one movement, their jaws dropped, even Sasuke's.

The "house" was actually not a "house" at all. It was a five-story mansion, with several windows, huge wooden glass doors, and balconies sprouting out here and there. The house was white, with black roof panels and shutters, built western-style. Sakura glanced at Neji; she'd been over Hinata's house once or twice, for random things or birthdays, but the Hyuuga estate was nothing compared to this!

"Come on, y'all," Shizuka called from where she was already standing before the front doors.

They quickly ran in.

The house was even more elaborate on the inside then it was on the outside. The front foyer had a wooden floor a level lower then the rest of the floor, for shoes, and was painted white with a small table with a vase set on it, containing an arrangement of pink lilies and buds. The three friends had barely gotten through the door, however, when two men in black suits came up to them and started checking them for weapons.

"They're clean," one of the men said, going back to stand on either side of the door, leaving a traumatized Sakura, Sasuke and Neji, who gulped and began taking their shoes off.

"This way," Shizuka instructed, beckoning them out of the foyer and down the hall. The hallway was nicely decorated, with old Japanese-style decor (i.e.: rice-paper walls, wooden, polished floors, etc.) with more small tables and vases here and there. Sakura instantly fell in love with the place, and decided that she had found her happy-place. Shizuka slid open one of the rice-paper doors and stepped back so they could go in. This room was decorated the same as the hall, but slightly more modern, with framed water-color paintings and a sliding glass door taking up most one of the walls, showing gardens and fountains outside. In the middle of the room was a low-set, wooden table.

Shizuka sat down at the table, setting her notebook down, and beckoned them to sit down, as well. Neji sat down on Shizuka's left, and Sakura sat on her right, Sasuke across from her, so they each had a side of the table to themselves.

Neji took out his notebook (A/N: When I say 'notebook' I mean 'binder'... Sorry.) and opened it. "Ok." He took out Iruka's homework. "It's really kind of easy."

"Obviously not," Shizuka said with a sigh as Sakura took out her Fashion Strategies homework.

"I know, that's why I'm here." Neji gave her a small smile and picked up his pencil. "Ok–"

"Ooo, Sakura, I like this one!" Shizuka pointed to one of the outfits Sakura was drawing. "Will you draw it in any other colors?"

"Yeah, thanks, I was going to do it in a dark red–"

"Can we not do this now?" Neji asked, interrupting them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Shizuka opened up her own notebook and took out her homework, letting out a depressed sigh.

At this point, there was a soft knock at the door, and Kidoumaru, wearing his trench coat, as usual, came in carrying a tray. "Here's a snack for you guys–"

"What are you doing?" Shizuka snapped, getting up and taking the tray from him. "You don't come in here when I have company!"

"Jeez... Sorry." He stalked back out.

Shizuka went back to the table and set the tray down; there were four mugs, a teapot of hot chocolate, and a plate of five different kinds of cookies, neatly arranged. "He annoys me," she informed them. "He's socially retarded so he likes to bug me."

"I heard that!"

"What're you gonna do about it, dickhead?!" she shouted, sweet exterior melting for a split second before she went back to pouring hot chocolate. "Here." She smiled sweetly, giving Sakura her mug.

"Ok, can we think English now?" Neji asked, sipping his own hot chocolate and looking at his homework.

Shizuka gave a depressed sigh again. "Fine..."

"Ok, to conjugate 'to have,' you have to–what are you doing?" Neji raised an eyebrow as she pulled out a manga.

"Readin'." She opened the book and, indeed, began reading.

"Uh, no." He took the book and put it next to him on the floor.

"Aw, come on..."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"_Please_?"

"No!"

"Please?!"

"No!"

"PLEASE?!"

"No!"

"Fine." Shizuka crossed her arms and rested her chin on them. "Butthead," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

"What'd you just call me?" Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Butthead, butthead."

"...I can't believe you just called me a butthead." Neji starred at her in disbelief. "No one's called you a butthead since, like, elementary school."

"Maybe not to your face," she mumbled, picking up her pencil and doodling on the borders of her homework paper.

Twenty minutes later found Sasuke asleep, homework finished, Sakura playing with Shizuka's hair while the latter tried to balance a pencil on her nose, and Neji banging his head on the table.

"Come on, I'm serious this time, you have to do your homework," he said in a long-suffering voice.

"Or you could do it for me."

"Or you could go to hell where you belong."

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha–Shut up," she ended with a glare.

"Hey, Shizuka, why don't you ever take off your sun glasses?" Sakura asked, noticing that the other girl hadn't taken them off all day.

"I have sensitive retinas," Shizuka answered, taking the pencil off her nose and going at her homework. She wrote for about five minutes, looking almost comatose, then gave the paper to Neji, and promptly buried her face in her arms, looking ready for a nap.

Neji raised an eyebrow, taking the paper and looking at it. He turned and looked at her in disbelief. "You knew this stuff all along?"

"No."

"Then, how–"

"Maybe you're just a good tutor," she said in an "I dismiss the matter" voice. While Neji continued to stare at her paper, Ukon came in, a weird expression on his face, and said, "Shizuka-sama, your father's back."

"Really?" Shizuka jumped up, suddenly awake. At Ukon's nod, she grinned, and turned back to her friends. "You guys wait here. I'll be right back," she assured them, before leaving with Ukon.

Neji and Sakura looked at each other.

"Well, that was interesting," Neji said, looking back at Shizuka's paper.

Shizuka was only gone for a few minutes before she came back, grinning hugely. "Guys, this is my dad," she introduced, stepping back. Neji and Sakura turned to look.

It was pretty obvious where Shizuka got her looks from; her father, though much taller and slightly more masculine, mirrored her long, black hair, pale skin, and seemingly graceful bearing. His light eyes, whose color couldn't really be made out, were framed by thick, dark lines Sakura suspected were make-up (Hey, I said "slightly more masculine," I didn't say "a lot more masculine"!).He wore a suit, just like Ukon and Sakkon, though his made him look... well... scary.

"Daddy, this is Sakura, Sasuke, and Big-Fat-Butthead–I-I mean, this is Neji."

"Hello." Shizuka's father gave them a weird, wide smile, looking around at all three of them in turn; his eyes lingered on the sleeping Sasuke before moving on. "Welcome."

"Um...Yeah..." Sakura felt a chill go down her spine. _They just get more and more gangster-ish by the person! _

"I have a dinner meeting with a client at seven, and you and Kimimaro are both going," the man told Shizuka. "Make sure you're ready."

"Ok, Daddy." She gave him a hug before he left again. Then, she sat down and ate a cookie. "That's my daddy," she informed them again.

"We could tell. Where's the bathroom?" Sakura asked.

"Down the hall, fifth door on the right," Shizuka answered, sipping her hot chocolate while Neji checked her homework.

"Ok. Thanks." Sakura stood up, a little unsure about wandering around the house looking for a bathroom, but her bladder wouldn't allow second thoughts, and she slid open the door, stepped out into the hall, and slid it shut again.

_Fifth door on the right... _Sakura went to the right door and started to open it when she heard sounds coming from across the hall.

"...the fuck were you thinking?!"

Sakura turned. Someone was sure pissed. The light was on in the room, and she could see the shadows of the people inside through the rice-paper. Her eyes widened.

"O-Orochimaru-sama..."

_That's Ukon..._ Sakura froze when she saw one of the taller shadows knee the other in the gut, and heard the other choke, gasping for breath. _What's going on?!_

"You know why I keep you and your brother here, Ukon?!" shouted an angry voice, as the shadow of the person who'd been hit fell over. "You're supposed to protect them, that's your job!"

"I-I know, Orochimaru-sama..."

"Then what the hell is the Atatsuki gang's leader's brother doing in my house?!"

Sakura's eyes widened. _Atatsuki...? Brother? Who's he talking about? What's going on?_

"I-I--"

"If you can't do your job, there's no reason for you to be here! You want me to drop you and your brother back in the _streets _like the pitiful orphans you are?!"

"N-No, Orochimaru-sama, please–!"

"Then do it right, or don't do it, you fucker!" The shadow who was still standing stepped back and turned away. "Get out of my sight, trash."

"H-Hai.." The shadow on the floor pulled it's self to it's feet and made it's way to the door.

Sakura gasped as the shadow loomed closer. _I have to move... He's going to... Move, feet! Move, dammit!_

Too late. The rice-paper door slid open and Ukon stepped out, holding his ribs with one hand and closing the door again with the other. Sakura's hand flew up to cover a gasp when she saw him; his head snapped up when he heard the noise.

He looked horrible; one of his eyes were bruised and swollen shut; his lower lip was busted, and blood trickled out of both corners of his mouth; there were bruises freckling his neck and what Sakura could see of his chest, and probably more were under his clothes; the fabric of his coat and shirt were ripped and torn here and there, showing cuts and scrapes.

However, through all of this, he just glared at her with his good eye and snapped "What?" before stalking down the hall.

Sakura's eyes followed him, still petrified.

He was limping.

Sakura stayed, rooted to the spot, long after Ukon had limped around the corner and out of sight. _Oh, my god... Was he just–_

"HI, SAKURA!"

"ACK!" Sakura jumped halfway out of her skin, whipping around.

Shizuka raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you doing?"

"_N-Nothing what-so-ever, nothing is wrong, thank you for calling_!" Sakura said, rather too loud, and too fast, for she was still a little freaked out.

"...Right. I just came to check on you, you were taking so long." Shizuka shrugged, holding up her hands in a helpless gesture.

"Shizuka-sama, a package for you," called one of the men at the door.

"A package??" Shizuka turned, grinning hugely, skipping down the hall.

"And you have a phone call." The door man gave her a small, cardboard box and a cell phone.

"Thanks," Shizuka said, taking the phone as Sakura finally made it to the bathroom, remembering her obligation to her bladder. "Hello?" she said into the phone, holding it against her ear with one hand and examining the package with the other.

"I'm not a dickhead," said a quiet voice on the other end.

"Huh?" Shizuka held the phone away from her ear, looked at it, then held it up to her ear again. "Who is this?"

"...The 'jerk-off.'"

Shizuka's eyes widened. "You! What are you doing calling my house?!"

"Did you open it?"

"No... Why?"

"Open it."

"Why? Is it some kind of bomb?"

"Open it and find out."

_Click._

Shizuka looked at the phone when she heard a dial tone. _Hmph. That was weird. _She turned to the door man. "Can you trace this call?"

"I already tried, Shizuka-sama," he answered. "It was made by another cell-phone, so the number and person can't be traced."

"Oh. Thanks, anyway." Shizuka turned and went back to the room where Sasuke and Neji were waiting, and met up with Sakura.

"What's that?" the pink-haired girl asked.

Shizuka shrugged. "I haven't opened it yet," she answered, opening the door and going in.

"What's that?" Neji echoed Sakura's question.

"Like I'd know, genius!" Shizuka snapped, going to sit by the table. She gingerly placed the box in the middle of the table. Maybe it _was_ a bomb. Maybe that guy was going to punish her for insulting him.

There was about fifteen minutes of silence before Sakura finally asked, "Are you going to open it, or what?"

Shizuka shook her head. "I don't know what it is. What if it's from that guy?"

"What guy?" Neji asked, a little confused by all this precaution over a little cardboard box.

"This dickhead–er, upperclassman who gave us directions," Shizuka answered. "What if it's a bomb for insulting him?" she asked Sakura, who suddenly blanched.

"Oh, my god, he was just the kind of person who _would_ send you a bomb, too!" she cried.

"Here, Neji, you open it." Shizuka gave him the box.

He gave her a look. "Oh, thanks." Using his mechanical pencil's point, he cut the tape that bound the box; instantly, both girls ducked under the table.

There was a few moments of silence.

"Ha ha ha ha ha.."

The two girls looked at each other, bewildered.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..."

"Laughing gas?" they whispered together, utterly confused.

"You two really are stupid, you know that?" Neji's laughing face leaned down to grin at them. He held up something small and shiny in his hand. "Ta-da. Behold your bomb." (Oh god, could that have been anymore O.O.C.?!)

Shizuka raised an eyebrow, taking it from him. It was a silver ring, rather plain, just the simple band, but as Shizuka turned it over in her hand and looked at it, she noticed something carved into the inside of the band, but she couldn't see it, as it was so dark under the table. Climbing out from under it (bumping her head in the process) she looked closely at the band. Etched into the inside was the kanji for "Gomen." (That means 'sorry' to those who are Japanese-retarded...)

"Who's it from?" Neji asked, after a few moments of Shizuka starring, eyebrow raised, at the ring.

She shrugged, pocketing it. "Who knows."

"You're not going to wear it?" Sakura asked.

"No."

"Why not? It's pretty!"

Shizuka shrugged as the doorman knocked at the door and said, "Shizuka-sama, another package for you." He set down another, much larger box on the floor by the door and closing it again. She sighed and got up, picked up the box, and brought it back to the table. "This is it," she said solemnly.

"What is?"

"This is the bomb."

If Neji had been one to fall over anime-style, he would have. "Oh, for crying out loud."

"...Here, you can have it, Neji." Shizuka gave it to him.

"If it's another present, I'm keeping it," he informed her, using his pencil point again to open the box.

Sakura and Shizuka waited with baited breath as he opened the box and looked in. After a few moments of silence, Sakura said, "Well?"

"Would this make me look fat?" Neji asked in a mocking voice, holding up a small, dark red, pleated skirt.

Shizuka flushed and snatched it out of his hands. "Yes!" she snapped, pulling the box towards herself. "It's just my school uniform!" She pulled out a small jacket that matched the skirt, as well as a white, button-up shirt, a gold tie, white socks, and black shoes. There was also a book bag, for when Shizuka actually got books, and a name tag with her name typed into it in bold, black characters. The skirt and jacket were both lined with gold.

"Oh my gosh, it's cute!" Sakura cried, picking up the tie. "I can't wait 'till I get mine! Gold isn't really my color, but I'll make an exception."

"Oh my god, you'd look so cute in this, Sakura!" Shizuka cried, grinning.

"Do you think so? I've always thought gold kind of made my hair look orange–"

"Argh!" Neji clamped his hands over his ears and banged his head on the table.

"What's wrong with you?" Shizuka looked at him oddly.

"I am _sick _of your_ girl talk_!" Neji shouted, glaring up at them.

"Oh, god, can you imagine _Neji _in the boys' uniform?" Sakura cried, now that she was on a fashion-roll.

"Oh, I know!" Shizuka held up the corner of the skirt to Neji's face. "Red is _so _your color, Neji!"

"Argh! Stop it!" He slammed his head down on the table.

**(Later that night)**

Sakura rolled over, pulling her covers up over her head. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't get that scene out of her head; the shadow of what she could see had been enough to scare her half out of her whits. But, more then anything, she couldn't get the look on Ukon's face out of her mind. He'd looked...

**Flashback**

"_If you can't do your job, there's no reason for you to be here! You want me to drop you and your brother back in the _streets_ like the pitiful orphans you are?!"_

**End flashback**

_...Scared, _Sakura finished. _'Orphans'....The twins are orphans?_

**(The next day)**

"Oh, I was right!" Shizuka cried, running out of the limo to glomp Neji as he came out of his house wearing the boys' school uniform. "It looks so good on you!"

"Che." Neji pushed his hair out of the way with a black bandana, his face slightly pink.

The boys' uniform was similar to the girls', with long, streamed red slacks, a red suit-jacket fitted to Neji's body, a white, button-down shirt, and a golden tie. (Just picture, like, your normal Japanese boys' uniform in red, ok? I'm sort of basing this on Yuhi's uniform from _Ceres,_ except that Neji's uniform has a tie, not a high collar, ok?)

"You look adorable, Hinata!" Sakura cried, leaning out of the window of the limo. She, also, was wearing her school uniform, and it must be said, it didn't clash a bit with her eyes. "You too, Neji!"

Hinata, who was riding with them because Neji was, blushed and twiddled her fingers. "T-Thank you, Sakura-chan... You look nice, too..."

Sakura grinned as Shizuka ushered the two Hyuuga cousins into the limo. "Thanks, Hinata!"

The limo Shizuka and Kimimaro normally took had gone a separate route from the one Sakkon and the others normally took, in order to pick up Shizuka's friends like they had planned the night before. Sakkon, Ukon, Tayuya, and Jiroubou took the other, while Kidoumaru rode with Shizuka and Kimimaro, looking especially harassed in the usual trench coat.

Sakura was slightly disappointed that it was Kidoumaru, but at the same time, she was relieved. She'd wanted it to be Ukon who rode in the car with them, if he came to school at all, so she could see how he was, after last night. But, at the same time, she was glad, since he was probably mad at her, and wouldn't talk to her, anyway. _I feel like I'm intruding on something secret..._ she thought sadly, watching as Shizuka pulled on Neji's tie to loosen it, grinning. _Shizuka has a crush? _she thought, forgetting about Ukon for a minute or two. She glanced at Neji, who was allowing this behavior. _It's totally obvious he likes her, too... I think..._

Actually, being honest, Sakura had zero readings on Neji. She didn't know anything about him, even though she'd known Hinata since first grade, and had seen him around Hinata's house every once and a while. He was a hard guy to pick up on.

Sakura was the second person out of the limo after Neji, wanted desperately to find Ukon, her big heart reaching out to him, like it did to almost everyone she met. Her face fell when she saw him, standing with Tayuya, Jiroubou and Sakkon by a bench. Even though the uniform had long sleeves and pants, Sakura could see a bandage wrapped around his left hand, with a pad-bandage over the eye that had gotten bruised. The swelling in his lip at gone down, but he had tiny butterfly stickers in one of the corners of his mouth. He carefully avoided looking at her, standing behind Sakkon, as if using his brother as a shield.

**(Geometry/Homeroom)**

"ALRIGHT, MY WONDERFUL EXAMPLES OF THIS GENERATION'S YOUTH! TODAY, WE WILL CONDUCT A SHORT QUIZ TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE AND ALL IT'S WONDERS!" Gai screamed at his students, brandishing a stack of pink papers. "DO NOT BE FOOLED BY IT'S COLOR, GENTLEMEN! REAL MEN TAKE PINK TESTS!" he added when the boys groaned.

"Hey, Sakura," Ino turned to Sakura as the tests were being passed out. "I heard you went over that Shizuka's house the other day."

"Huh?" Sakura looked up. "Who said that?"

"Neji did," Ino said bluntly. "I was on the phone with Hinata when he came home."

"Um...Oh?" Sakura wondered where she was going with this. It wasn't that big a deal.

_Oh, wait... Yeah it was,_ Sakura corrected herself. _It was a big deal that I went over there... Because of us, Ukon got in trouble... I wonder if that's happened before..._ From the almost thoughtless look on his face when he'd come out of the room, Sakura suspected, to her immediate horror, that it probably did occur on a regular basis.

"Hello!" Ino's face suddenly appeared before Sakura's, causing her to jump.

"W-What?"

"I said, what did you guys do?"

"Homework," she answered, not lying.

Ino looked disappointed. "That's it?"

"Yeah..."

Ino actually pouted. "You suck, Sakura."

"Huh? Why?" What had she done wrong this time?

"You were alone in a house with _Sasuke_ and _Neji_! What would any self-respecting woman have done?!" Ino cried, drawing the attention of more then a few people in the room, but not caring. Hinata was blushing hugely. "What would _I_ have done?!"

"Sorry, Ino, but I don't believe in masochism," Sakura said casually, more for the fact that everyone in the room was listening.

Ino's jaw dropped. "Sakura...!" she growled, clenching her fists.

Sakura gave her a would-be sweet smile and turned to her test paper, which she had yet to begin. _I know that was mean... But seriously, can't girls and boys just be friends in high school? _(No)

**(Biology)**

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Shizuka smiled, coming into the classroom with Kimimaro and Sakkon behind her.

Sakura smiled. "Ohayo, Shizuka." She leaned backwards slightly, looking out into the hall. "Is that Neji?"

Shizuka looked out in time to see the older Hyuuga's black ponytail disappear out of sight past the door. "Yeah. His class is down the hall from this one, and his last one is right next to mine, so he said he'd walk with us."

"Oh..." Sakura gave Shizuka a coy smirk as the black-haired girl sat down.

"Huh? What?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow at her.

Sakura shook her head. "Nothing."

Kimimaro, who caught on, rolled his eyes and sat down, looking at the huge, thick books that were not sitting on their desks.

Shizuka, still looking mortally confused by Sakura's comment, looked at the books and asked, "What's this?" and picked up the copy in front of her.

"Your new biology books, which you will use every night for homework, and to study from for quizzes," Kurenai answered, and proceeded to preach about book-health while passing out sheets that basically said "I promise not to fly into a rage at my teacher and burn this book."

Shizuka groaned, banging her head on the book. "Another damn class I'm gonna fail..."

Sakura smiled slightly, patting her friend on the back. "It's ok..." _Shizuka doesn't seem too confident... I don't really blame her, I mean, she's my friend and everything, but all the classes I've had with her, she's gotten into trouble in at least once, except Jiraiya's class, but he doesn't punish girls..._

After class, Sakkon, Kimimaro, Shizuka and Sakura were one of the first people out of the door, namely because Sakkon was anxious to get to his Calculus class (**Probably because his 12th grade brain is turning to goo in a little 9th grade class!** Inner-  
Sakura suggested), and found Neji waiting for them, his book bag over his shoulder, holding a piece of paper.

"I finished checking your English homework and your Language Arts essay," Neji told Shizuka, giving her the piece of paper. Sakura saw it was covered in red marks with little notes and Xs. "Just recopy it and fix that stuff I wrote about, and you'll do fine."

Shizuka sighed. "Great." She put the paper in her book bag (A/N: The book bags they carry are the traditional brief-case-like bags that Japanese students carry, by a handle or on their backs). "I just know I'm going to fail this year..."

"You're helping her with Language Arts, too?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at Neji as Sakkon walked as fast as he could through the crowd down the hall to his Calculus class.

Neji shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Are you going to tutor me some more after school again?" Shizuka asked as they waded through the hallway.

He shook his head. "I can't. I have soccer practice. I can come later, though, around four, or so."

Shizuka groaned, clawing at her hair with her free hand. "Damn, I'm so gonna fail this–"

"You're not going to wear it?"

"Huh?" Shizuka stopped, turning. She yelped slightly.

The tall, dark-haired senior who had called her the day before stood behind her, leaning against the locker. He, also, wore the boys' school uniform, except that his jacket lay unfastened, showing that he didn't wear the button-down shirt or the tie, and instead wore a black T-shirt that said "I'm out of my mind. Please leave a message." Shizuka saw, to her annoyance, that he wasn't wearing his name tag. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked down at her with the same, condescending look. "Well?"

She scoffed, glaring at him, knowing he meant the ring. "No!"

"Why not?"

"Because you don't just give a ring that says 'sorry' on the inside to a girl whose name you don't even know!" Shizuka snapped, crossing her arms.

"I know your name," the boy answered, looking a little... confused?... at this outburst.

"Then what is it?" she snapped, glaring at him even harder.

"Hakai-teki Shizuka, homeroom F-1, age 14, likes Chinese food, manga and silver jewelry." He gave her the smallest of smirks. "Did I leave anything out?"

"Yeah! _Your_ name! And how do you know so much about me?!"

Kimimaro, having watched this entire scene, rolled his eyes and started walking again down the hall. "We'll meet you in class, Shizuka." Sakura, who was anxious to see Ukon, who was in the next class, agreed with this statement, even though she was unsure about leaving her friend alone with this weird guy. Neji also looked unsure, and probably would have stayed, except that Sakura and Kimimaro dragged him away.

Shizuka starred after them in disbelief, then whirled back to glare at the senior. "Well?! What else do you know about me?!"

"I know everything about you, Hakai-teki Shizuka," the older guy said with a full smirk. "Your schedule, your locker number and combination, your address, your cell phone number, I even know that Kurenai assigned homework today that you intend to burn to ashes. Am I right?"

Shizuka's eyes widened for a split second before she glared at him again. "How do you know all this crap about me?"

"Don't worry about how I get my information," he said nonchalantly. "I'm not here to get a third degree. I'm here so that you can thank me for yesterday."

"Yesterday? What happened yesterday?"

"I helped you find your class, and I helped you open your locker," he answered, smirking again.

She scowled, crossing her arms. "I'm not going to give you any thanks for it!"

"That's fine."

"Huh?" She flushed when, suddenly, his face was before hers. _Oh... crap!_

"This is for helping you with your locker." To her immediate shock and almost enjoyment, he pressed his lips on her forehead. "And this is for helping you find your class." He kissed her forehead again. He leaned back, leaving a furiously blushing Shizuka, and smirked, tapping her cheek. "Keep it up. Maybe I'll have to help you aga–I mean..." He cleared his throat, pulling himself to his full height glaring down at her. "Don't make me have to help you again," he said in a different tone before turning on his heel and walking away.

Shizuka flushed, quickly recovering from her recent experience by throwing her book bag (which now contained a biology text book) at the boy's head. "Hey!" she shouted when he stopped, her book bag embedded in the back of his head. "You don't just kiss a girl and then run away! Tell me your name before I run down the call screaming 'rapist'!"

The boy took the book bag out of the back of his head and held it for a moment, looking down at it, then turned, holding it out to her. "Itachi."

"Huh?" She took the book bag.

"My name's Itachi," he repeated before going around the corner and down a flight of steps.

_Itachi..._ Shizuka repeated the name in her mind. She smirked. _I'll remember it. _

She glanced at the digital clock on the wall.

"WAG! I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

**(English/Lunch)**

"You're late, Hakai-teki," Iruka informed her when she ran into the room, totally out of breath, her face flushed.

"It's not my fault your class is so hard to find," she pointed out, hands on her hips.

Iruka smiled. "I agree with you there. No punishments the first week, but I do expect you to attempt to be on time, alright? Have a seat."

Shizuka gave a sigh of relief and went to sit at the back of the class room in her seat. Sasuke, Sakura and Kimimaro were working on the drill on the board, and Ukon just lay there with his head buried in his arms, his face not visible.

Sakura hid a sad sigh. He'd been like that since they'd reached the classroom, not bothering about doing his work, and definitely not looking at her. But oh well. There was always gym class, the only other class she had that he was in.

"What did that boy want?" Sakura whispered to Shizuka as the other girl took out her binder and a pencil.

Shizuka shrugged. "Nothing, really."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

Shizuka shook her head. "I did find out his name, though." Glancing at Iruka, who was glaring at her for talking, she whispered, "I'll tell you later."She took out a blank sheet of paper and looked up at the black board.

_Conjugate 'to have' and 'to be' into present-tense English with translations. _

_Your homework is your friend!_

Shizuka groaned, looking at Neji, who was sitting two rows in front of her. "Damn. I have no resources."

"You have us," Kimimaro pointed out, already finished his drill.

Shizuka looked at him, then went back to looking at Neji's back. "I have no resources."

Neji suddenly turned around and pretended to ask Shino, who was sitting behind him, for a pencil, while instead passing him a small, folded piece of paper very discreetly. Shino, taking the hint that it was suppose to be discreetly passed, reached down and lightly tossed it under Shizuka's desk without turning around.

"Hm?" Shizuka looked down at it, then back up at Neji, who gave her a pointed look before turning around again. _A note? _She shrugged, dropping her pencil, and reached down to pick it up, also picking up the note and putting it in her lap. Glancing up to make sure Iruka wasn't paying attention to her (he was talking to Naruto), she scooted her chair back a bit and opened the note in her lap.

_Having troubles?_

Shizuka raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Neji's back, which was still turned to her, and picked up her pencil, putting the note on the desk under her binder and writing under Neji's neat scrawl, _What do you think?_

"Hey." She poked Shino in the back of the neck with her pencil before tossing the note back under the desk so he could pick it up and put it on the seat of Neji's chair that Neji wasn't using. Neji picked it up, scanned it, and tossed Shizuka a smirk, before scribbling something and passing it back.

_Need any help?_

_DUH!_

_Ok, I deserved that. Do you remember anything I told you yesterday?_

_Yep. "Don't read manga and do homework." "Don't look at clothes and do homework." "Just do homework and only homework!" Nag nag nag!_

(Insert a small sketch of Shizuka slamming Neji's decapitated head against the ground by his ponytail)

_Oh be quiet. Do you want my help or not?_

(Insert chibi-sketch of Shizuka with shining sun glasses and hearts all around her, clasping her hands before her face)

_Ok, then._

_I need help with 'to have'._

However, before Shizuka could get her desired help, Naruto suddenly passed between Shino and Neji's desks just as Neji was dropping the note for Shino to pick up, and Naruto picked it up. "Oi, Neji, you dropped this folded piece of paper. Is it yours?" Naruto held it out to him.

Neji's eyes widened and he quickly snatched the piece of paper as Iruka's eyes flicked over him. "Naruto no baka!" Neji hissed as Iruka called, "Neji, come over here, please."

Every pair of eyes in the room except Ukon's, who remained in his comatose state, followed Neji as he slowly got up and made his way through the rows of desks to the teacher's desk, where Iruka was waiting. The same thought passed through every freshman's head: _Oh my god, a sophomore got in trouble!_

Iruka held out his hand expectantly to Neji, who dropped the folded piece of paper in his palm unceremoniously. Iruka took it, unfolded it, and examined it.

After a moment, he sighed. "Neji," he said in a disappointed voice. "How long have I been your teacher?"

Neji thought for a moment, then answered. "Ten years, Iruka-sensei." There was a murmur around the room.

"Mm-hmm. Can you tell me your grade-point average in my classes during those years?"

"98.2 percent," Neji answered; his face was not visible to the class, so no one could tell his emotions (not that they could have anyway...).

"Mm-hmm. And have I ever had to punish you?"

"No, sir."

Iruka looked incredibly disappointed. "Go stand in the hall, Neji. I'll be out to talk to you shortly."

"Yeah..." Neji turned on his heel, walking across the front of the room to the door, his head held high, like it always was (unless he was talking to someone shorter then himself).

Iruka stood up. "Shizuka." He beckoned her with his finger, following in Neji's footsteps outside.

Shizuka, wishing the God of Death would just come and bite her legs off rather then having to see that look on Iruka's face (because, lets face it, who wants to Iruka-sensei sad?), stood up and followed him. Once they were outside, Neji leaned up against the lockers, and Shizuka standing a few feet away from him, hands behind her back and feet slightly apart, Iruka spoke again.

"I'm disappointed," he informed them, as if they couldn't already tell. "Shizuka, this is the second time in two days since the beginning of school two days ago that you've gotten in trouble in my class. Neji, this is your first time since I've known you that you've gotten in trouble in my class."

Neji ducked his head slightly, and Shizuka merely adjusted her weight from one foot to the other.

"I'll speak plainly," Iruka said with a sigh, opening the note and showing it to them. "This is considered cheating. I don't tolerate cheating in my classroom. Normally, cheating suffers after-school detention..."

Neji looked up, eyes wide, a protest on his lips, but Iruka cut him off. "But since this is the first time either of you have been accused, there won't be any punishment, for now. You have my warning, however: if I catch you again, you will both have after-school detention, regardless of after-school activities. Are we clear?"

Both of them nodded. "Hai..."

"Neji, you can go back into the class. Shizuka, I'd like to speak with you for a moment." Iruka crumpled up the note and tossed it in a nearby wastebasket.

Shizuka raised an eyebrow as Neji went back into the classroom. "Um...Ok?"

As soon as Neji closed the door, Iruka asked, "Is anything bothering you, Shizuka? Anything at home, or here at school?"

Shizuka faltered, eyes wide in confusion. "Huh?"

"I suppose not. The school is agreeing with you alright, then?"

"Er... I guess..." Shizuka flushed, thinking of the boy named Itachi.

Iruka sighed. "I'll get to the point. I know you're new here, and you're a freshman and feel the need to fit in, but you don't have to goof off in order to fit in."

Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Sensei, I really _couldn't_ find the–"

"No, I believe you. I'm just letting you know. Also..." Iruka smiled at her. "Having a boyfriend may seem like the only thing that's important right now, but let school come first, alright?"

Shizuka full-out blushed at that, her eyes wide, sunglasses askew. "W-What?"

Iruka's smile widened, and he went to open the door to the classroom. "I assure you, you _can_ see him after class."

Shizuka's jaw dropped... and remained dropped for the rest of the class until lunch. "The _nerve_ of that guy!" she cried, taking her _bento_ box from Ukon, who briefly resurrected to complete the task of giving her said _bento_. "I mean, seriously!"

"What?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow. He and Shino had switched chairs, so now Neji was sitting in front of Shizuka, chair turned around, so they were sharing the same desk to eat off of. Shino had opted to sit next to Kiba and Naruto in the front row, for what reasons no one could comprehend.

"Nothing," Shizuka said in a completely different tone, causing everyone's eyes to go up, as she took a mouthful of rice.

"...Whatever. Are you going to rewrite this or not?" Neji pulled her Language Arts essay out from the pocket of her binder and waved it in her face.

"I can't do homework and eat. I have a weak stomach," she informed him.

"You have excuses for everything," Sakura said with a laugh, unwrapping her own_ bento_ box.

"Yeah, whatever, Pink Panther." Shizuka took a bite of shrimp chow mein, a rather strange dish for a Japanese bento box, but no one seemed to care.

Neji rolled his eyes, taking out a bag lunch. "Come on, seriously, this thing's already late. If you rewrite it now, Iruka-sensei'll probably let you leave class early to give it to your teacher." He took out a plastic-wrapped sandwich, a bag of baby carrots and sliced cucumbers, a cup of applesauce and a spoon, and a bottle of water.

Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Why are you eating so healthy?" she asked, taking out a clean piece of paper and a pencil.

He shrugged, unwrapping his sandwich. "During the soccer season, I always eat like this so I stay in shape. I'm the 'whatever' player, so I have to be ready for pretty much everything."

"The 'whatever' player?" Sakura repeated; she was a little vague on sports.

Neji nodded. "Yeah. Mostly, I play on offense, but I also play defense and goalie if I have to." He shrugged again, taking a bite of his sandwich. (SNG has no idea what the rules in soccer are, but she watched her little sister, 'Big Foot,' play, so she sort of has an idea..)

"When do the games start?" Shizuka asked, recopying the essay.

"In about two weeks." He looked at her. "Why?"

Shizuka shrugged, not taking her eyes off the paper she was copying (well... at least they thought she didn't... the sunglasses made it kind of hard to tell). "I dunno, maybe I'll go to one or two."

Sakura nodded, grinning. "Yeah, me too!" She gave Sasuke a long, side-ways look before nudging him.

Sasuke looked up at her, catching onto the conversation. Then, he turned to Neji. "I hope I don't break your heart when I say I won't come out and be a cheerleader for you."

"Oh, spare me the vision." Neji rolled his eyes, eating a carrot stick. He was slightly slouched over the chair, with his legs crossed, one ankle resting on the other knee, and one arm hooked behind the chair, the other arm's hand feeding him. The posture made him look pretty cool, although he seemed totally unconscious of it, starring off into space while he ate his carrots.

After a few minutes, Shizuka snapped her fingers in his face, bringing him back to reality with a jump. "What?"

"I'm finished." She gave him her essay.

"Oh." He sat up slightly, putting both feet on the floor and leaning forward slightly to read it. After a few moments of reading, brow knit in concentration, he gave it back to her.

"Well?"

"Ok." He leaned back in his seat, eating another carrot stick, followed closely by a cucumber slice.

"Ok?" Shizuka repeated, looking astonished.

"Yeah."

"It has the Neji Flower Circle Seal of Approval?" she asked, in that same voice.

He gave her a look. "Shush. Go give it to your teacher."

Shizuka hurriedly finished her lunch, packed up her things, explained to Iruka, and with five minutes to go till the bell rang, left the class.

Sakura turned, giving Neji a smirk. "What was that?"

"What was what?" he asked innocently, finishing his sandwich.

"That 'pretending not to care' that we would come to your games, crap." Sakura's smirk turned into a grin. "I think Neji-chan has a cru-u-u-ush..."

"I don't," Neji said at once, unblushingly. "She just happens to be an English-retarded person who I'm helping out for the good of the community."

"How'd you know I was talking about Shizuka?" Sakura smirked.

"Er–I don't have a crush!" Neji repeated, looking miffed.

"Uh-huh, right, sure." Sakura rolled her eyes. "You keep telling yourself that, practice saying that fifteen times fast."

"...Why?"

Giving him a coy grin, Sakura turned and called loudly, "Hey, Naruto, wanna hear something _really funny_ about Neji?"

Neji's jaw dropped as Naruto turned around, grinning. "Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"Just a second, Naruto." Sakura turned back to Neji. "Do you like her?"

"No!"

"Really."

"Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"No hormonal attractions whatsoever?"

"Nada."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Neji nodded, as if she were dense. "Yes, Sakura. Seriously."

Sakura looked disappointed. "Damn."

**(Gym)**

"I'll be back in a sec," Sakura told Hinata and Shizuka before exiting the locker room and going out to the gymnasium. Looking around, she saw Jiraiya standing by the bleachers (who needed to peek when you were about to have a show in five minutes?) and Ukon sitting several rows up on the bleachers, all by himself. _I thought so. _Taking a deep breath, Sakura went up to Jiraiya and said, in her most pitiful voice ever, "Sensei, my stomach hurts, can I sit gym out today, please?" Puppy dog eyes.

And of course, Jiraiya being Jiraiya, he couldn't say no to a girl who looked at him like that. "Sure, Haruno, go sit over there with Otaki." He nodded to the bleachers.

Sakura smiled sweetly. "Thank you, sensei. I'm sure my stomach will feel better soon."

Jiraiya smiled his lecher-smile. "Let's hope so, Haruno."

Forcing the smile to stay on her face, Sakura nodded and climbed up the bleachers to sit near Ukon, who immediately began inching away.

"Hi," she said kindly, giving him one of her "I can be your friend" smiles.

"Hmph." He looked away.

(**He's worse then Sasuke-kun! **Inner-Sakura screamed, tearing at her hair, totally annoyed)

"Er," Sakura said as a few people started coming into the gym, dressed. "I, uh, meant to talk to you... About yesterday."

"Hmph."

"Uh..." _Stay calm, stay calm, stay perfectly and utterly calm, we are here to help him, not kill him! _Sakura smiled again. "Uh... H-How are you? I mean..."

He didn't answer, watching as Jiraiya explained, with utmost glee, to the girls' side of the class, that they would be playing volley-ball, boys against girls.

"...Has-Has... um..." _I have no idea what to say! I've never had to deal with this kind of thing before! _Finally, she spoke. "You look horrible."

"Hmph."

Somehow finding confidence from somewhere deep within her that she had absolutely no knowledge of, she asked sternly, "Has that happened before?"

Ukon turned to look at her briefly, then went back to watching the game. Sakura's jaw dropped.

"Oh my god, it has!" she cried. "How long has this been going on for?!"

"A few years," he mumbled, speaking for the first time.

"Why do you let that guy do that to you?!" she cried, leaning forward to tilt his head to either side, checking for more bruises. She quickly withdrew the hand, however, as he suddenly flinched before she could even touch him. That answered that question. "Ukon, you have to tell someone!"

"No," he said coldly, turning on her with a glare. "And you better not, either."

"W-Why?" Sakura faltered; his glare was terrible.

"Because," he snapped, "if I got in trouble with Orochimaru-sama for something like that, what do you think he'd do to me if I told someone?"

"Um..."

"He'd toss me and Sakkon both back out into the streets," Ukon answered his own question. "I'd rather take the hits then have to go back to that. This kind of pain only lasts for a while, but that pain lasts forever."

"D-Does Sakkon know?"

"By 'know' I assume you mean he knows why I have these bruises?"

"Um... yeah..."

"No."

Sakura stared. "Why not?"

"Because," Ukon answered, "he'd only get pissed at Orochimaru-sama, and that would just get us in more trouble with Orochimaru-sama. Besides..." Ukon looked away. "I'm the older twin, and I promised her I would take care of him."

_I was right, they are twins. _"You promised who?"

"My ...mother... before she died..."

Sakura's eyes widened. _So they_ are_ orphans... _"You promised her you'd take care of Sakkon?"

Ukon nodded. "That's why..." He clenched his fists, his eyes clenched closed, as well. "That's why I'm willing to do anything to make sure that he'll be alright." He opened his eyes, looking down at the wooden floor where the rest of the class was playing volleyball. Sakkon made an excellent spike from the front line, turning to grin at his brother as soon as the ball made the point, as if waiting his approval of the move. Ukon gave him a small smile, causing Sakkon's grin to widen, and the younger brother quickly resumed the game. Ukon turned to glare, one-eyed, at Sakura. "I don't need your help, and I won't let you take away what we've accomplished."

Sakura gulped, but refused to let it drop. "I don't understand, who's this Orochimaru guy you keep talking about?"

Ukon's eyes melted back into looking pained before he looked away again. "Orochimaru-sama... My... boss, and... Shizuka-sama's father."

Sakura's eyes widened. _Nani?!_

* * *

Ha ha ha you guys got a lesson in note-passing by SNG! (Used to pass notes all the time and only got caught once)

Well, that seemed like a good place to end that chapter. (Smiles brightly at all the nice little people who haven't read Apprentice and are wondering "The hell is she thinking?!") Oh well, if you'd review, maybe I wouldn't leave such crappy endings. (Glares at all the evil people who have read Apprentice and are just being spiteful because their pairings weren't decided) I think I said in the last chapter that _everyone _gets a pairing in this.

...Except TenTen. Her voice bugs me. (I might skip a few people that I don't like...)

(Listens to all 37 of her AMV's and still can't find a soundtrack for this fic.) Jeez, that's sad... Sigh. I put my fingers into my eyes... it's the only thing... that slowly stops the ache... If the pain goes on, I'm not gonna make it... blah blah I have that song stuck in my head now. I was thinking something like the Dot Hack Sign theme, but... Now, it doesn't really fit now.... Just wait, tho!

Come on, now. Be fair! Leave a review!

(Show picture of Inner-Sakura, glaring Karasu-like) Ever wonder what happens if you _don't_ leave a review?

One of the things that bugs me a little is when people leave double-reviews for two different stories. I understand if, like, there are complications, like Kie-san once said "it wouldn't let me review for Apprentice, btu I loved it, F.Y.I." I understand that. But when people review for, like, Genius In Love, per say, and say, "Please update Apprentice, I love that too" but don't actually review for Apprentice, it gets annoying.

I dunno, maybe I'm just being a bitch. I'm surprised you people review for me, even though I bitch at you all so much.

(A note: This chapter is 24 pages long, not counting my A/N)


	3. My Name

**Crimson Love**

My Genma-fetish has been revived. Dear god. He's so hot! (Drools) I have favorite guys in all the age groups, see. First, in the younger group, there's Neji (by younger, I mean, like, 12-14) and then in the medium group, there's Itachi (15-18) and then there's Genma in the older (19-Whatever) group. Genma's probably going to be in this. No doubt about it. I know have every single picture available that has him in it (I used the Paint program to X out the other characters in the picture in red) and I continually drool over them, like I do my Itachi and Neji and Sakkon and Kimi pics. I just love them all to death!

Anyway, this whole revival thing started with this dream I just had about him (I need to stop thinking about Naruto before I go to sleep) and he and Raido had to act as guards for this princess in the Fire country or whatever, and Genma fell in love with her, but so did Raido, and yeah. Oddly enough, the princess resembled Shizuka... (Maybe I'll write this fic soon... Before I retire (If I ever do) but fan fiction, I want to have at least once fic written about each character of Naruto... sigh... Yes, even Ino and TenTen...)

There's something you gotta notice about my O.C.'s. Notice they all generally look alike? Mm-hmm. Kyu, Yoshi, Rei and Shizuka all look pretty much alike, generally. They all have black hair, they all have strange-lookin eyes, and they all are short! Basically, here's my story behind the O.C.'s: I start out with the story-plot, and think about it for about three weeks, then I start working on Noogie. Noogie is the name of my O.C. She's basically the original O.C., and she has black hair, is around 5'3", and doesn't really have eyes, since they change so much. Noogie is the roots for All my O.C.'s. That's why they all look alike.

Ok, we can add that little tidbit to "S.N.G.'s Corner Of Useless Information" which shall be continued in the next installment: "How To Start A Fan Fic." (For those still confused... God I'm such a stuck-up little kid... Please smack me.)

ALSO, a quick note to those who have not read my fan fics before... I am the queen of flashback moments. No, seriously. My fics have more flashbacks in them then Kenshin! You have been warned. (I do try to make sure the flashbacks help the story, though...)

Also, if you're wondering how to pronounce Shizuka's name (the way I pronounce it, anyway) her first name is "Shi-zoo-kah" and her last name is "Heh-kai-tech-ee." If you say it fast, it sounds cool.

Review answers at the end! (The reason I'm updating so fast is because I woke up at one a.m...)

* * *

**Chapter Three: My Name**

Shizuka sighed unhappily, standing by the volleyball court with her hands behind her back. She hated volleyball. She hated sports. She hated gym. She hated school.

Shizuka was a lot like Sasuke, in that, she hated a lot of things. Hated them with a fiery passion. Hated them with a sickness that threatened to crawl out her eyeballs.

She hated school like Sasuke hated fan girls.

And that's saying something.

"Hakai-teki!"

"Huh?" Shizuka turned.

WHAM.

And promptly toppled over, a volley ball embedded in the side of her face. Shizuka jumped up, grabbing the ball, and shouted, "Ok, who threw that?!"

All fingers on the boys' side pointed to Neji.

Neji's jaw dropped. "No, I didn't! It was Shikamaru!"

All eyes turned to the pony-tailed teen, who was actually asleep in the middle of the court. Neji felt a cold sweat run down his spine. _K-Killing intent..._

"Neji..." Shizuka growled, drawing the ball back.

Neji blanched

"How dare you throw a ball at a girl like that?! Do you know what kind of damage that could do?!" Shizuka shouted, jumping up and slamming the ball down over the net, smack into Neji's face. "If you ever fuckin' do that again, I'm gonna hand you your testicles, do you hear me?!"

There were instant groans from all the boys at the mere thought of it.

Meanwhile, in the bleachers, Sakura continued to stare at Ukon. "What'd you say?" she asked, after a few moments of silence.

"Orochimaru-sama is Shizuka-sama's father," he repeated.

"So-So, that nice guy who came and said hello to us the other day was–"

"On his way to murderlize me? Pretty much."

Sakura's eyes widened, but she quickly looked away. _I feel so bad for him, _she thought sadly. _He must have been hit a lot, to be able to talk about it this casually..._

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me," Ukon said suddenly, as if reading her mind.

"Huh?" She looked back at him.

"I'm not unhappy," he told her, shrugging. "Except for the days when Orochimaru-sama gets mad, I'm really happy to be where I am. I live in a pretty damn cool house, I get three damn good meals a day if I don't piss Orochimaru-sama off, and all I have to do to keep that stuff is make sure Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro-sama don't get in deep shit." He shrugged. "Most people like me don't have it that easy."

"Well, yeah, but–" She stopped when he gave her a hard look again; she looked away again.

"What's your name?"

"Huh?" She looked up at him.

"What's your name?" he repeated.

"Y-You don't know my name?" For some reason unknown, this bothered her.

He shook his head.

"Oh... My name's Sakura." She smiled at him. "Hanuro Sakura."

"Sakura..." He glanced at her pink hair. "It suits you."

Sakura, to her annoyance, found herself blushing as she pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Everyone says that."

He nodded, to show he understood this, and went back to watching the game, which had actually turned into a "Kill The Woman-Abuser" fest, with Shizuka stomping on Neji's "remains," shouting about her brains splattering out of her ears, or some such nonsense, while everyone watched. (Notice Jiraiya does nothing... Dude, girls in gym shorts, ok?)

"Jeez... What a violent chick.." Neji mumbled, holding his hand against his cheek where the volleyball had hit him, opening his gym locker.

"Ah, but a most beautiful one, yes, Neji?" Lee cried, clapping a hand on Neji's shoulder, causing the poor, abused Hyuuga's knees to buckle. "Ah, such youthful energy! She makes me want to improve my own youthfulness!" Lee cried, going to his own locker, totally oblivious of the world of pain he'd just put his friend through.

"Beautiful?" Neji repeated, eyebrow raised, as he pulled off his gym shirt and stuffed it in his locker. (-SNG drools-)

Lee nodded fervently "Yes! Hers is a most interesting and lovely face, though not as lovely as the eternally lovely Hanuro Sakura, whose beauty blossoms like the flowers she is so justly named for!"

Neji rolled his eyes, getting dressed in his school uniform again. He was used to Lee's bursts of "poetic" statements. Knowing the guy since Kindergarten gave him armor against nausea at such times. He and Lee were pretty good friends, even if Lee did annoy Neji (but at the same time, make him smile) with his lack of knowledge to the phrase "cat got your tongue." Neji, in turn, confused Lee with his total seriousness half the time. But the two got along. It just came naturally.

"Are you staying after?" Lee asked once they were dressed and out in the gym again, waiting for the bell to ring.

Neji nodded. "Yeah. Soccer meeting. You?"

"I have a lacrosse meeting, and then I'm going to work out for gymnastics," Lee answered, bending over to tie his shoe.

Neji rolled his eyes. "I'll never understand how you can manage to stay on two teams at once. I have enough trouble with just the one, with schoolwork and practice and games _and_ tutoring. I can't ima–"

"You're tutoring someone?" Lee looked up at him, slightly startled. Neji was never a "people person" and tended to like to stay by himself to do his schoolwork.

Neji nodded. "I'm helping Hakai-teki in Language Arts and English.. And probably her other classes, too, now that I think about it."

Lee continued to look at Neji in shock, then grinned. "That's the spirit, Neji! Your fifteen years of dateless-ness have finally come to an end! You are now..." Pause for effect. "...Boyfriend material!"

Neji's eyebrow skyrocketed. "What?"

"Don't worry, Neji! The beautifully sweet demeanor of Shizuka-san will not allow her to break your heart!" (Sweet? What 'sweet'?)

Both eyebrows went up. "What?"

"But, Neji," Lee clapped a hand on Neji's shoulder. "She is a freshman, and therefor, easily breakable. Be gentle with her."

Neji's eyebrows disappeared under his bandana. "What?!" (SNG: Yeah! What was that about freshman?! Kyuubi: You're not a freshman. SNG: But I was! We have feelings, dammit!)

"Do not worry, Neji!" Lee repeated. "I will help you curb your desires! That's what friends are for!"

Oooh... Wrong thing to say, Lee-kun...

"WHAT THE FUCKIN' HELL DO YOU MEAN, 'CURB MY DESIRES'?!" Neji bellowed, beating Lee with his book bag, shouting between beatings. "I DON'T HAVE ANY DESIRES, YOU DEFORMED BAG OF PINK FLESH! I DON'T EVEN HAVE A CRUSH ON HER, YOU ASSHOLE AND SO-CALLED 'UNDERSTANDING' FRIEND!"

Neji took a few deep breaths, regaining his composure.

"B-but, Neji," Lee cried. "Taking advantage of a freshman's need for attention is just wrong!"

Twitch. "I'M NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HER! SHE'S TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ME AND MY WEAKNESS FOR–" Neji stopped, looking around. Every single guy in the gym (the girls were all doing their hair except for Tayuya, and she just didn't care) was starring at him, waiting.

"Yes?" Kiba prompted.

"Argh!" Neji stormed away.

"What happened?" Shizuka asked, coming up with Sakura and Hinata from the girls' locker room. She'd come to ask Neji to help her with her Social Studies homework while they waited for the bell to ring, but Neji had stormed away before she could ask him.

"Lee was talking about you and Neji shagging each other," Kiba answered, since everyone else was smart enough not to say anything.

Hinata: BLUSH!

Sakura: O.o?!

Shizuka: Twitch. "YOU FUCKIN' _WHAT_?!" she roared, turning on Lee.

Lee: (Insert high-pitched, feminine scream)

Neji and Shizuka were rather quiet towards each other on the way to Guitar class with Sakura and Kimimaro. Sakura, of course, kept the normal string of conversation going with Shizuka, who would comment and laugh occasionally at the topic (Sasuke's uniform) while Neji remained totally silent, ignoring the female race as a whole for the time being. Kimimaro, of course, like always, did not talk. (Sasuke went ahead, totally bored with their existence)

Suddenly, the topic turned to the girls' uniform. "Doesn't Shizuka look cute in her uniform, Neji?" Sakura asked, grinning. No way in hell was she going to let this go. _She_ knew that Neji liked Shizuka, even if he didn't, and she was going to make him realize it, dammit! (Inner-Sakura had about forty-percent control over her thoughts).

Neji turned to look at the two girls, a blush creeping over the bridge of his nose. "Er," he said, gulping. Dare he say no, and get pummeled by a furious Shizuka? Or dare he say yes, and have everyone he knew in the hall know that he'd said yes to the question? "Ah..."

Sakura smiled at him, waiting patiently. Shizuka looked at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting his answer with a deadly silence. Kimimaro was giving him a 100-watt death-glare that said something along the confusing lines of "Don't mess with my sister," and "Don't insult my sister."

Neji was cornered, and Neji did not like being cornered. A cornered Neji was never a confident Neji.

Then, suddenly, he recalled a similar incident that had occurred last year, when he had first come to the school and gotten his uniform.

**Flashback**

"_Neji!" TenTen called, running over in her new school uniform. She turned in a circle for him to see. "What do you think?"_

"_Eh.." He shrugged, turning away._

**End flashback**

TenTen hadn't attacked him after he'd said that. That must be a safe answer. Before he could shrug, however, Sakura added onto her previous question, "Don't you think she looks hot? The skirt makes her legs look nice and long." (Non-yuri, dammit! Jeez... I say this about my friends all the time when I try to hook them up, it's not yuri!)

Neji instantly cursed the evil she-demon disguised in the garb of the seemingly sweet Hanuro Sakura. That was a "yes" or "no" question. He knew that. He wasn't so socially retarded that he didn't know the difference between a "looks good" question and a "looks hot" question. If he shrugged on a "looks hot" question, it would definitely stab Shizuka's easily wounded ego, and he would get pummeled. But, if he said yes, Sakura would never let him hear the end of it. If he said no, he would get pummeled.

Odd, though; for all his geniusness, Hyuuga Neji couldn't think of a way to get himself out of this mess.

Finally, he just went with his gut instinct. "She looks alright," he said with a shrug. He decided to ignore the comment about Shizuka's legs.

"_I_ think she looks hot," said a voice behind them.

The four friends turned; the black-haired boy from that morning smirked at them, leaning against a locker, hands in his pockets. His obnoxious shirt glared at them through his jacket, and his onyx eyes bored through them.

"Itachi," Shizuka said coldly, turning bodily to look at him.

"You remember my name? I'm flattered."

"Don't you have anything better to do then leer at girls in their school uniforms?" Shizuka asked, glaring.

"Not at the moment." His smirk threatened to turn into an almost teasing smile. "Skipping off to class like the good little freshmen that you are, ne?"

"I'm not a freshman," Neji snapped; it bugged him that this guy called Itachi would treat them all like inferior insects every time he saw them. And he saw them a lot, it seemed.

Itachi glanced at him, and smirked again. "I see. Glowering in the schoolgirl worship, are we?"

Neji glared. He was not having a good day. He had woken up that morning to find that Hanabi and Hinata had used all the hot water, thus entitling him to a freezing cold shower. He had been late to third period because he had stopped to talk to Shizuka. His aunt had packed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch today. He had gotten the shit beat out of him by an enraged, sunglass-wearing freshman, whom his 'friend' thought he wanted to do ungodly and totally unorthodox things to. He was continually being harassed by Sakura for his preference to things he really thought did not matter. Neji was having the exact opposite of a good day. He was having a very bad day, actually. He was having the kind of day during which he wished someone would push his eyeballs out with their thumbs. The kind of day that was going worse then he could possibly imagine. The kind of day that was a wonder of the modern world, it was so horrible. The kind of day that he hoped a priest would be available to remove from his memory.

Yeah. He was having one of _those_ days.

And right now, Itachi's smirking face was slowly but surely pushing him off the edge.

Yes, that edge. The edge of the safe harbor of Neji's slowly dwindling sanity. Currently, Shizuka and Sakura were merrily floating around in said harbor (so was SNG... that's why she can still write this), but Itachi's smirk was attacking it like a nuclear warship.

And so, Neji cracked.

"If you do not shut the fuck up and wipe that god damn smirk off your ugly-ass face and be on your merry fuckin' way, I will shove my Algebra fuckin' 2 book up a place of no return," Neji growled, producing said 1 and a half inch Algebra 2 book from his book bag.

Itachi just smirked a little bit more, causing Neji's eye to twitch, and said to Shizuka in a rather playful voice, "Well, I suppose there's no hitting on you while you have your little man-thing here protecting you, ne?"

"That's right!" Sakura said proudly, causing the bridge of Neji's nose to turn blue, and Kimimaro to chuckle to himself.

Itachi just scoffed a little and leaned up off the locker. "I'll just have to catch you when you're not around him, then." The smirk returned as he walked past Shizuka, reaching out to tap her forehead with his finger. She swatted his hand away and stalked into her classroom, followed by Kimimaro.

Once they were in the room, Neji turned on Sakura. "What the hell are you thinking?!"

"You shouldn't curse, Neji, it's not in your character to smirk."

"SNG said I cracked ok, I can curse, but that's not the point!" Neji waved it off. "What were you thinking?!"

"What?" She looked up at him innocently.

"Defending me and Shizuka like we're in a relationship!"

"Well, you are, aren't you?"

Neji's left eye twitched again. "If I have to say _one more time_–"

"Come on, Neji, it's not that bad, don't you think she's pretty?" Sakura smiled up at him.

His mouth sagged open. "What?"

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Sakura winked. "Besides, if you two go on a date, we can double it with me and Sasuke-kun!" She patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm totally in it for my own interests."

Neji starred at her. "What, in the name of all that is holy, goes on in that tiny little mind that makes you think I won't decapitate you?"

She just winked. "Don't worry, you're hot enough that, if you ask her out, it'll only take a week or so before you're at it like rabbits!"

Neji's jaw dropped. His face turned a rather interesting number of colors in a few short seconds; first, it turned pink, then beet-red, then blue, then it lost all color. Sakura winked again and skipped into her own classroom, leaving Neji alone in the hall.

He stood there for about three minutes.

"Aw, shit!" He ran into the class, realizing the bell had rung.

Shizuka popped up in his face nearly as soon as Neji sat down, causing him to fall off his chair; he was rather jumpy today. "W-What?" he asked, crawling back up again, blushing slightly.

"Gai-sensei gave us homework," she said coldly, holding up the offensive object (A/N: Gai-sensei has a few different classes; Sakura is in his first one, and Shizuka is in one of his later ones).

"...Oh." Neji took the piece of paper and looked at it. He raised an eyebrow. "This is just an information sheet. All you have to do is fill in your personal information."

"...Really?" She looked at the paper again. "...Oh." She scratched the back of her head. "Ha ha ha, well I'll be!"

"Yeah? You'll be _what_?"

"What's your problem?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM!"

Shizuka backed up a few inches, eyebrows raised. "Ok, fine, jeez." She went back to her seat by Kimimaro, taking out her binder and a pencil and writing something on the homework paper Gai had given them.

Neji huffed and took out his own homework. Everyone was so in-his-business today! That made six people who had to mess with him on this, the most horrifically abnormal day of his life. He'd had enough.

Next person to mess with him really _was_ going to experience Algebra 2 textbook treatment. But first...

...He had to _go..._

"Sensei, can I go to the lavatory?" Neji asked Kakashi, raising his hand.

"Uh-huh, sure, whatever." Kakashi just kept reading.

Neji sweat dropped and went to get the pass. Turning back, he called, "Oh, and sensei, is it ok if I go get some beer while I'm out?"

"Uh-huh, sure, whatever." Kakashi kept reading.

"Oh, and, can I smoke some weed when I get back?" Neji was enjoying himself thoroughly, in his own estranged way.

"Uh-huh, sure, whatever." There was some giggling in the back round; Neji wasn't sure if it was one of the students, or Kakashi.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, can I read your dirty novels?" Neji asked innocently.

Kakashi slammed the "music book" he was reading down on the desk, glaring daggers at Neji. "Will you just go to the bathroom already?!"

Neji grinned and got the pass, leaving the class. His bladder was going to break the peace-treaty if he didn't hurry.

**(After Class)**

Neji was the first person out of class, more for the fact that he didn't want to see Sakura then anything, rushing as fast as he could through the throngs of people to the gym, where the soccer team's meeting was being held. He could only hope there was a ball around for him to kick. Really hard.

Neji smirked when he entered the gym; Jiraiya and his classes had cleared off, leaving the bleachers full of a group of sophomores Neji knew on one side, and a group of freshmen who looked like they wished the floor would just swallow them up. Neji saw why they were so petrified almost at once.

"What do you mean, you didn't bring anything to change into?" Genma (applause) snapped, standing on the hard wood floor before the bleachers, glaring up at the freshmen, arms crossed. "You're here to try out for a team. Did it not occur to you that you would have to do a little dirty work to get on said team?"

Neji grinned, as did all the sophomores. They'd gotten this talk last year, when a few of them didn't bring anything to change into. Genma would yell for a while, make them run laps, then they would get to work. While he was unnaturally strict, and tended to forget it was a school program, which meant he tended to let his tongue run loose, Genma was a good coach, and the team had made it to regional championships under his instruction last year. If you got past the tough exterior, he was a pretty nice guy, and Neji had come to trust and respect him, as a father-figure that would sometimes make him run fifteen laps around the gym.

"Hey, coach," Neji called, going over to the bleachers. "Summer ok?"

The death glare he received was answer enough.

"Ahh..." Neji grinned. "Got dumped, did you?"

"Women should be shot," Genma said coldly, chewing on the toothpick in his mouth like it were the female race it's self.

"Tell me about it," Neji muttered, thinking of his own "woman problems."

Genma noticed this, but turned back to the freshmen. "Those of you who brought something to change into, go do so. Those who didn't, run laps until your sweat glands are ready to bite you in the ass."

As the poor, verbally abused freshmen scurried to do as he told them, he turned to the sophomores on the bleachers. "Go get dressed and warm up. We're going to show these puny kids what it takes to be on my team, got it?"

"Yeah!" The sophomores jumped up, running to the locker room, past the freshmen, eager to show their skill.

Genma turned back to Neji once the gym was semi-cleared. "What's up?" he asked casually, pocketing his hands.

Neji shrugged. "Nothing."

Genma shrugged. "Ok, then." He turned on his heel towards the equipment room.

"Um, coach?"

"Ye-e-es?" Genma turned on his heel again in almost the same motion to face Neji again.

Neji sighed. There was no getting out of it now. "Ok." He took a deep breath, but Genma cut him off.

"Do you _do_ have a girlfriend?"

Twitch. "What?!"

Genma shrugged. "I'm just repeating what I heard."

"Who told _you_?!"

Another shrug. "Lee came running in here like he had the news of the century a few minutes ago, screaming that 'your days of girlfriendlessness were done.'" Genma smirked at Neji. "So? Who is she?"

"She's _not_ my girlfriend!" Neji shouted, temper veins popping out in his forehead. "Lee just gets overly excited every time he sees two people talk to each other!"

Genma smirked. "Who is it this year he's tormenting you with?"

Neji groaned, remembering how, last year, Lee couldn't get enough of the fact that Neji muttered "hello" to TenTen when she ran over, shouting hellos and declarations of some such nonsense. "Hakai-teki no Shizuka," he muttered, looking away.

Genma's eyebrow skyrocketed. "Hakai-teki? She's that girl with the sunglasses, right?"

Neji nodded.

"The one who's always hanging around Hanuro?"

Nod.

"The one who always shows up in a limo?"

Nod. Temper vein.

"The one with the weird white-haired kid who always–"

"You seem to know a lot about her!" Neji snapped, getting defensive again for reasons beyond him.

Genma tilted his head back slightly, eyebrows up, a little startled by the outburst, then grinned around his toothpick. "I haven't actually seen her. I just hear a lot of rumors about her and her friends because they come every morning in limos. Plus, Lee told me a lot, in the five seconds that he was actually here." His grin widened. "Why?"

Neji shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Genma starred at him in disbelief.

"I. Don't. Know. Exclamation mark," Neji said in a slow monotone.

"Ok, well, you let me know when you do, ok? This is getting interesting." Grinning to himself, Genma crossed the gym to the equipment room to get the soccer balls.

Neji just rolled his eyes and went into the locker room to change.

**(Meanwhile...)**

"The gang is meeting tonight," said a deep voice.

A quiet voice answered. "I know."

"It's a date-thing."

"I know."

"Are you bringing any entertainment?"

"Possibly."

"Come on, Uchiha, enough with the secrets."

"There are no secrets. I'll bring someone, don't you worry."

**(Meanwhile in the meanwhile)**

"You guys go on out to the car," Shizuka waved off her friends towards the door. "I have to get my Biology book from my locker."

"Ok." Sakura went to the limos outside with Kimimaro; she had grown quite accustomed to the fact that she would ride with Shizuka every day; in fact, she hadn't even questioned her right to a seat in the limo.

Shizuka sighed and turned to her locker. Neji had opened it for her that morning, so she could put her Biology book in, but she still had no idea how to open it herself. And hell would freeze over before she asked someone for help. "Come on, Mr Locker," she growled, entering her combination, "I have no time to mess with you today."

It didn't open.

"ARGH! STUPID PIECE OF MODERN MACHINERY SHIT!" She proceeded to kick the locker, making a huge racket, since her shoes had small like half-inch heels on them. "WHY THE FUCK DO YOU OPEN FOR THE OTHER PEOPLE BUT YOU DON'T OPEN FOR ME?!"

"Language, Hakai-teki," Kurenai ordered, walking by.

"Sorry," Shizuka mumbled, not really meaning it. _Stupid fuckin' piece of metal why won't you open?!_

"You have problems with school property, don't you?"

Shizuka really did jump out of her skin this time, whirling around to glare at Itachi. "Now what do you want?!"

Itachi smirked, standing barely six inches away from her. Reaching around her, he rapped on the locker a few times again, then started twiddling the combination. He was so close, in fact, that Shizuka was almost pressed up against him, her nose now barely an inch away from his chest as he worked over her locker.

Shizuka suddenly realized the position she was in.

K.O.!!!

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!" she shouted, drawing her fist back again as Itachi staggered, hand on his cheek where she had punched him. "DOES THE TERM 'PERSONAL SPACE' MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?!"

"I was opening your locker for you."

"YOU WERE DISTURBING MY CHI, YOU FUCKER!"

"Fine, jeez, disturbing the chi, whatever." Itachi rolled his eyes, rubbing the red spot that was now building on his cheek. "You pack a mean one there, Hakai-teki."

"Oh shut up!" She turned back to her locker and attempted to open it again.

However, it did not open, as Itachi hadn't finished his "upperclassmen magic."

"ARGH!" She banged her fists on the cold metal locker for all she was worth. "OPEN UP YOU F–"

Hands reached around her again to rap their knuckles on the door again. She starred for a few minutes as Itachi once again worked his "upperclassmen magic," before entering the combination again and opening her locker.

Then she realized his body was touching her back.

"YOU'RE IN MY BUBBLE!"

SMACK!

Itachi staggered again, a red mark on his other cheek now, as well. "Jeez, fine, no physical contact." He rolled his eyes, brushing off the sweeping pain that was slowly covering his face. "Look." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Me and a few of my friends are getting together tonight around seven for drinks and cards and whatever. You're coming with me."

Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "You know how terribly lame 'drinks and cards and whatever' sounds, right?"

Itachi's eye twitched. He was a master at card games, thank you, and no stinkin' freshman was going to insult them! "Then let's settle this," he said coldly.

"Yeah, let's!"

**(A short while later)**

"Oh, this is _so_ terribly lame! Can't I simply punch you in the face and be on my way?!"

"You're just sorry I'm whoopin' your sorry ass. Go fish."

"No, I will not 'go fish'!" Shizuka stood up, throwing her cards into the pile in the middle of the hallway in which both of them had been sitting on the tiled floor, playing cards. "And no, I will not go get a drink with you!" Huffing angrily, she went over to her locker, which still stood open, got out her Biology book, and stalked out of the building.

**(Two hours later)**

(Jeez... Do I use enough meanwhiles?)

Neji stepped out into the open air outside the school, stretching his shoulder out as he did. He was tired, sore, bruised in a few places, sweaty, and smelly, but damn was he happy! Getting back to his favorite sport after a long summer of just kicking a ball against a wall was like a breath of fresh air! Games would be starting soon, and Genma had informed him that his new, permanent position was as goalie, a position Neji loved, meaning he would get to play every game. Games meant people cheering, and people cheering meant...

"Oh crap, _they_'re gonna be there!" Neji groaned. "Ok, happy feeling gone."

_Well..._ he pondered as his aunt pulled into the drive way to pick him up. _Not really _all_ gone..._

* * *

Ok! All done! Lol. This chapter was shorter then the others, mainly because... Well, I didn't want to rush into the story line. There was another scene in here, but that will be added in later chapters... Be patient!

Okie... Review answers... Sigh! I'm so sorry I got all crabby in the other chapters. Ff dot net is having that whole clean out thing or whatever and I didn't get the review alert things so I thought no one was reviewing. But then I checked my Stats option on my log in page and I was like "O.O. HOLY CRAP!" because I have 17 reviews for this.

17!!!!!

God damn, people. Lol, ty! I shall try not to crab... But I really do want reviews, okies?

Let's see...

**Narutofan: **Ty! (Sorry but if you leave four-word reviews I can't really respond that much, can I?

**Dragonman180:** Lol, once again, you cheer me up. Ty! Yes, Gai-sensei's students will need counseling.. SHUSH ABOUT THE PRINCIPLE THING! Jeez... You wanna ruin stuff, eh?

**Joann:** You shush, too, about the pairings! God damn! You all just live to ruin the plots in my stories and ruin the surprises for other people! Are you and DM180 in this together...? Lol I'm just kidding... but that should answer your question, ne?

**Jazzywolf:** Girl you cannot imagine how scared I got when I opened my mail and I was like, "jazzy didn't review for me?! AM I THAT FORSAKEN?!!" because you're always one of the first people to review... God, don't do that to me, ok? We writers have very fragile pyschis...

**Xl-twisted-lx:** Lol. WOOT! (Pyscho-Pac-man face) RAISE DA ROOF! GET IN MA BELLA! Lol, see VG-Cats to understand this... That comic is so hilarious. I get inspiration from it, if you haven't noticed.

**Mika:** Hello e-mail buddy! Lol. I'm such a loser. ...Please stop complimenting me so much... You people treat me like I'm god... I'M NOT! KISHIMOTO-SENSEI IS!!!! (I call him sensei because I learn so much from him)

**Sourdough-AK:** Thanks! You don't normally read High school fics? Then I feel special! Lol. I knew all that crap about the schools (it wasn't really crap, tho, I found it extremely helpful) but... well... I went to an American high school, and it just feels more comfortable for me if I base this on my own experiences (Yeah... A lot of the crap that happens in this has happened to me... well... the school part has.. The parts outside of school, I WISH happened to me). I also knew about the entrance exams, and whatnot, but, again... American high school... Also, for your Iruka pairing... SURE! Lol, he is so unloved, isn't he? There's a bunch of yaoi pairings for him, but no straight pairings... sigh. Yeah, I'll do that pairing, ty! (I make him so sadistic)

Sigh... what other notes? Hmm.. (reads thru the fic again) Hm. None that I can think of... Okies, buh-bye!


	4. Sun Chips and Bento Boxes

**Crimson Love**

I noticed something... You people totally aren't asking about the Sakkon-Shizuka thing! What the hell, people? Oh well. H-R says I'm being weird because Ukon is in this more then Sakkon... What can I say to that? Hmm... I know: Sakkon doesn't have a crush, and Ukon does! Exactly what the crush is is pretty obvious, but for now, pretend you can't tell... He's already pissed at me for this chap... you'll see soon.

Ok I am totally not to blame for the name of this chapter... H-R's friend came over and she had Sun Chips, and now I have a new favorite snack. (Insert mocking from H-R and all the contents of the kitchen) -.-' Shut up. All of you shut up.

I'll find a way to make it relevant somehow.

Like always, review answers at that bottom, be sure to read the A/N, since their have some info on the school system!

* * *

**Chapter Four: Sun Chips and Bento Boxes**

Once again, Neji was having a bad day. The kind of bad day he wished upon Gai-sensei last year, but the fates had been against Neji, for some reason, and made it happen to him, instead. Only, it happened this year, instead.

First, for a reason unknown to him, he woke up at one a.m. He found this especially odd, since he had been dead-tired when he got home the day before. He tried for many hours to go back to sleep (actually, he only tired for half an hour, but Neji is very impatient) but with no such luck. When he finally realized he was not going to reassume his dream (which had included himself, Sakura, Shizuka and, for some reason, a spork), he got out of bed, went over to his book case, and read every book he owned.

Neji owned three books. _Green Eggs And Ham_ (Japanese translation), _How To Retain Sanity, _and _How To Tutor Insane Psychopaths; For Dummies_, which he had purchased the day before.

Needless to say, that didn't take up that much of his time.

But he did learn a lot about tutoring.

Throwing _Green Eggs And Ham_ over his shoulder, he went back over to his bed, put on his head phones, and listened to every CD he owned.

Neji owned exactly five CDs; the Disturbed collection (_Prayer_ and _The Sickness_), Papa Roach's _Getting Away With Murder, _Sevendust's _Animosity, _and a burned CD full of 19 of his favorite songs whose names he forgot long ago, but they were all very loud and very death-metal-ish, and helped to calm him (sounds weird, but it works for me, too).

At 3 a.m., Neji got on his computer. Hiashi had gotten him his own computer last year, since Neji had gotten straight A's (NERD!), and since then, Neji had gotten a chat-room-fetish. Signing onto his favorite chat room, he waited for the page to open while going downstairs and getting himself something to eat.

Neji had a sudden rush of happiness when he realized that he was the only one awake. This was no surprise, of course, but it only just clicked with him that he could finally eat what he wanted, after living off of carefully planned and prepared food for the past year and four days (yes, he counted). Neji was most desperate for some of his own "home cooking."

Getting two slabs of bread, he set them out on the counter and went to the fridge. After rummaging around, he got out three different kinds of lunch meat, the mustard, the mayonnaise, a jar of pickles, an onion, some gravy, mashed potatoes, some jalapeno peppers, cheese curls (why were they in the fridge?), a few breakfast sausages, a carton of Chinese take-out, some rice that came with said take-out, and some orange juice. Putting all this on the counter, he put a little bit of everything onto the pieces of bread (using the cold gravy as glue), then mashed the two pieces of bread together and stuck them together with a pair of chopsticks like a deli sandwich (yeah... that's how big this sandwich was)(H-R: ...I don't care if it's in sandwich mode, that's my Unaia combination. DAMN IT!!! MY SISTER IS A THIEF!!! SNG: Dude, how many times have you used my ideas or quotes? Let's be perfectly honest.), poured himself a glass of orange juice (NO, the orange juice didn't go on the sandwich!), got a big bag of sun chips (I told you I'd make it relevant!) then took the whole lot upstairs and sat down at his computer.

By now, he was logged onto the chat room, and found only one other person online, whose screen name was SnAk3-EyE1989.

(The next bit will all be in chat-format. SNG chats a lot, so she knows how to do it.)

SnAk3-EyE1989: Hello.

FateK!ller: Hi. Who are you?

_SnAk3-EyE1989 point to name_

FateK!ller: Well, duh.

FateK!ller: I haven't seen you around here before so I was asking.

SnAk3-EyE1989: O. I c.

SnAk3-EyE1898: I cant tell u n e thing tho, cuz u mite b sum weird dude from god know where.

FateK!ller: Your grammar and spelling sucks.

SnAk3-EyE1989: Shut up! I no!

FateK!ller: Did you even go to first grade?

SnAk3-EyE1989: Yeah!

FateK!ller: Then why can't you spell?

SnAk3-EyE1989: becuz my tutor sucks!

FateK!ller: Who's your tutor? He really must suck.

SnAk3-EyE1989: sum lozer who thinks hes al that cuz hes on the soccer team.

FateK!ller: Hey! Soccer is cool!

SnAk3-EyE1989: no its not! it sucks so bad!

FateK!ller: It does not! Have you ever even played?!

_SnAk3-EyE1989 kicks u in the shins_

FateK!ller: That answers nothing!

SnAk3-EyE1989: yah but it makes me feel better

FateK!ller: Whatever.

SnAk3-EyE1989: y r u awake?

(Neji popped a Sun Chip is his mouth and brushed his fingers off on his shirt (ew) before typing his answer.)

FateK!ller: Because I'm not asleep.

FateK!ller: Duh.

SnAk3-EyE1989: no no no! shut up! I mean, wat r u doin at 3 am

FateK!ller: I woke up two hours ago

FateK!ller: And I couldn't go back to sleep

FateK!ller: What are you doing up?

SnAk3-EyE1989: I went to sleep when I got hom frm school

FateK!ller: It's not healthy to be up this late and then go to school.

FateK!ller: Your grades will go down because you're tired all the time.

SnAk3-EyE1989: dude Im already failin

SnAk3-EyE1989: it doesnt matter if im dead awake or half asleep

SnAk3-EyE1989: but tday I was WIDE AWAKE after gym

FateK!ller: Lol. Why?

SnAk3-EyE1989: b cuz my STUPID F-IN 'tutor' hit me in the head wit a volleyball!

FateK!ller: .....

FateK!ller: What?

(Neji got a little freaked out. Yeah, this was a chat room and everything, but, seriously. That was sounding _way_ too familiar!)

SnAk3-EyE1989: n he didnt even apologize!

SnAk3-EyE1989: but he has been dealt with

_SnAk3-EyE1989 cackles_

FateK!ller: O.o

FateK!ller: Um... I'm sure he meant to... eventually...

SnAk3-EyE1989: uhhuh whatever

SnAk3-EyE1989: o shit my brothers comin I g2g c u l8er

FateK!ller: Ok, bye

_SnAk3-EyE1989 has left the conversation._

(End of chat-room format)

Neji sat back, frowning. Maybe that was why Shizuka didn't have good grades; she probably stayed up all night like the snake eye kid and then, the next morning, her brain was totally fried and unable to retain information. He highly doubted the two people were connected, but it was something to think about.

**(Next morning, before school)**

"Hi Neji, hi Hinata!" Sakura called, waving from the window of the limo that was waiting for the two cousins outside the Hyuuga estate.

Hinata gave a small smile, waving shyly. Neji just grunted, hands in his pockets, going over to the car. When they were both in the car again, and on the road to school, Neji asked Shizuka casually, "How late did you stay up last night?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, then looked at the roof of the car, deep in thought. "Till about..." She thought again. "Actually, I went to sleep an hour or so after getting home, so I woke up again around 2 and stayed up all night." She raised the eyebrow again. "Why?"

He shrugged. "No reason. I just thought that maybe the reason your grades are so bad is because you're always tired."

A temper vein appeared on Shizuka's forehead. "Are you calling me stupid?!"

It was Neji's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Is that all you gathered?"

Before Shizuka could shout some more, however, Sakura grinned and asked, "How late did _you_ stay up last night, Neji?"

He tossed her a look. "For your information, I dropped dead as soon as I got back from practice at four thirty, so I had a reason for staying up at unholy hours."

Sakura grinned. "Uh-huh, yeah, sure."

**(Geometry/Homeroom)**

Sakura cut Ino off before the blond could even say anything. "I'm not telling you anything about Shizuka, if you're so curious, get to know her yourself."

Ino gave her a weird look. "I wasn't going to ask about Shizuka."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"I was going to say that Sasuke-kun isn't here today." Ino pointed to where the moody Uchiha normally sat in the back corner all by himself.

"Huh?" Sakura looked at the empty desk. Sasuke hardly ever missed school; he was an above-B student, thus entitling him to a nearly perfect attendance record that had lasted him all through Kindergarten. It wasn't like him to miss a day. "He's probably still asleep." Sakura shrugged it off. She wasn't that worried.

However, saying that Ino was just the slightest bit worried was a rather large understatement. She was a nervous wreck, pulling at her hair, sweating buckets, and banging her head on the desk.

Sakura gave Ino sideways glances throughout the class, which consisted of Gai-sensei shouting all about lines and points. _So _these _are Sasuke-kun-withdrawal symptoms.. _Sakura had never experienced said symptoms; she had Sasuke in four of her classes, so she saw him enough through the day, and always called him after school, but Ino only had him in homeroom and Language Arts. Poor girl. This must be the beginning of the longest day without Sasuke-kun that Ino had ever experienced.

**(Biology)**

Sakura turned when Shizuka, Kimimaro and Sakkon came in the room with one minute to spare; just as she suspected, Neji was in the hallway when they left the door, but he quickly ran away when he saw Sakura smirking at him. She laughed a little, then went to get her Biology notebook.

"...Eh?" She rummaged through her book bag; the notebook wasn't in there. "I could've sworn..." She took out all the contents, frowning. It still wasn't there.

"What?" Shizuka sat down next to her.

"My notebook isn't in here," Sakura answered, looking through all her notebooks in turn, in case she missed one.

"So? You have enough as it is." Shizuka eyed the notebooks on the desk warily through her sunglasses.

"I know, but my homework was in it." Sakura groaned, raising her hand. "Sensei, I left my notebook in my locker, can I go get it?"

"Sure, Hanuro, take the pass." Kurenai pointed to a clipboard leaned against the blackboard. (Has anyone besides me noticed that, while all the chalkboards are called "black boards" they are all green? Hmm...)

"Thanks, sensei." Sakura got the pass and hurried out in time to hear Shizuka cry, "We had homework?!"

Sakura went downstairs to her locker, entered the combination, and rummaged through (Maybe it's only Shizuka's locker that's crappy) looking for the notebook in question. She jumped back when a sealed envelope dropped at her feet. "Huh?" She picked it up. There was something written on the envelope.

_Sakura_

She shrugged, running her finger under the sealed edge and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper with a message on it, and a pink _sakura_ bud that matched the color of her hair almost exactly. Blushing slightly, she took out the note.

_Thanks for being so nice to me._

Sakura blushed furiously. _Someone gave me a flower..._ She took the bud out of the envelope and starred at it for a few minutes. Grabbing her notebook, she closed her locker and skipped away, notebook in one hand, flower and note in the other.

"Sakura."

She screeched to a halt, whirling around. Ino smirked at her, holding a pass for another class. "Ino."

The smirk dropped. "Who's that from?" Ino pointed to the flower.

It was Sakura's turn to smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know, Ino-pig?"

"...Duh." Ino glared. "Who gave it to you?"

"An upperclassman." Sakura waited for these words to take their effect, even though she wasn't sure if they were true.

Ino's jaw dropped. "What?! No way! What upperclassman would give _you_ a flower?! I don't believe you!"

Sakura shrugged, smirking. "You can ask him yourself, if you want. He's in our gym class." Then, leaving Ino with her mouth hanging open, Sakura went back to Kurenai's class, wisely pocketing the flower. After turning around a corner, she stopped dead. _Oh crap! What am I gonna do?!_ She groaned, pulling at her hair. _How am I gonna find an upperclassman in my gym class who will agree to this?! I know Ino-pig is gonna ask someone, but no one will say yes! Oh I hate myself.._

"What's that?" Shizuka said loudly when Sakura entered the room again, pointing to her person.

Sakura froze. "What's what?"

"That..." Shizuka suddenly grinned, showing all her teeth. "Oh..."

Sakura blanched, dropped the pass on Kurenai's desk and going over to her seat. "Do you know who put it in my locker?" she whispered to Shizuka, suddenly desperate. "I have to fund out before gym class so Ino can ask them and they can say yes!"

"...What?" Shizuka looked mortally confused.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Look, you know every upperclassman in our gym class, right?"

"...Yeah? And?"

"Can you _please_ make one of them tell Ino they gave me a flower?" Sakura begged.

"...Um, ok?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow at her.

"Thank you!" Sakura gave her a huge hug, then opened her notebook and took her homework out.

Shizuka just shrugged and went to sleep.

Again.

**(After class)**

"So which senior gave me the flower?" Sakura asked once they were in the hall.

"A senior gave Sakura a flower?" Neji asked, appearing at Kimimaro's elbow. "Dang, Sakura."

"No! I don't know!" Sakura groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure it's someone..." Shizuka thought for a moment. Then, she turned before Sakkon could disappear around the corner in his quest for Calc. "OI! SAKKON!"

"Yeah?" He turned, raising an eyebrow.

"You gave Sakura a flower, ok?" Shizuka waved a hand carelessly. "Ok, now that that's–"

"What the hell?" Sakkon's jaw dropped. "No, I didn't!"

"Well, you did now."

"No, I didn't! You're not pulling me into one of your stupid schemes again, Shizuka-sama. I'm putting my foot down and walking away!" And walk away he did.

"...Ok, we need another senior." Shizuka scratched her head.

"A _cute_ senior," Sakura protested.

"What's wrong with Sakkon?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow again. "You're in no mood to be picky, unless you want Jiroubou or Kidoumaru."

"Er..." Sakura thought for a minute while they went down the hall.

"And, can we hurry this up?" Shizuka pushed them down the hall.

"Why?" Kimimaro raised an eyebrow. "It's not like you're ever on time, anyway."

"Yeah, well, this hallway is not really agreein' with me, ok?" She glanced around before pushing them even harder.

"So, you're avoiding me now?"

_Erk!_ Shizuka froze, glancing over her shoulder.

Itachi smirked at her, leaning against a locker again; today, the obnoxious shirt read "I'm not a stalker, your house is just everywhere I go." (_And justly so,_ Shizuka thought with a shiver) "Well?"

"Yes!" Shizuka snapped, glaring at him. "You're creepy, annoying, and have a really bad habit of showing up wherever I am and breaking my space-bubble! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a class to go to." Giving him one final glare, she pushed her friends into the stairwell.

Itachi smirked, pushing himself off the locker and going down another stairwell. _Hakai-teki no Shizuka... Very interesting, indeed..._

**(English)**

"HELLO, IRUKA-SENSEI!" Shizuka shouted, coming into the room three minutes before the bell rang.

The young teacher jumped, papers flying. "H-Hakai-teki?"

"I am ON TIME, sensei!" she shouted happily, slamming her hands down on his desk.

"Er... ok?" Iruka looked from side to side warily. "C-Can you take your seat, please...?"

"Absolutely, sensei!" Shizuka actually ran to her seat and sat down, folding her hands and smiling brightly. And it disturbed Sakura, Ukon and Neji thoroughly. Kimimaro was used to her strange behavioral swings and just sat down.

However, Shizuka's bright-and-cheery-and-scary mood was instantly drained when she saw what was on the board.

_Create a verb-chart for the verb 'to have' in present, past and future tenses. Complete with translation._

Her jaw dropped. "Oh _shit_!"

Iruka's head snapped up. "Hakai-teki!"

"S-Sorry, Iruka-sensei." Shizuka groaned, banging her head on her desk. _So screwed, so screwed, so screwed..._

Sakura glanced at the empty desk on her right. _Sasuke-kun isn't here yet... Maybe he really isn't going to be here..._ She sighed heavily.

A note was suddenly dropped over her shoulder. She jumped slightly, looking at it, then around her. Ukon didn't look at her as he walked down behind the desks to ask Iruka a question. She raised an eyebrow and unfolded the note.

_You look sad. Are you ok? Can we talk?_

Sakura smiled and wrote back, _Yeah, we can talk. _(Insert smiley face) Then, she handed it back to him as he walked by again. He tossed her a look and pocketed it. Sakura grinned back and picked up her pencil to begin the drill.

A few minutes later, Shizuka gave her the note back and whispered, "Why is he writing a note to _you_?"

"Because he's nice," Sakura whispered, taking the note and opening it.

Shizuka rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Nice."

_So... What's wrong?_

Ukon leaned forward, arms crossed on his desk top, chin on his arms, looking at her keenly. Sakura blushed and wrote back.

_Sasuke-kun isn't here today._

_......So?_

Sakura flushed angrily at his response and wrote back angrily, _So, I'm worried about him! He never misses school!_

Ukon raised an eyebrow at this, glanced at her, and wrote back, _How can you tell he's here? He never talks anyway._

_Yes, I can! And yes, he does!_

_When?_

_He talks to me!_

_Again, when? I've never seen the guy talk._

_Well that's because you hardly ever talk, either!_

_I'm talking now. I talked to you for an entire class the other day._

_Technically, you're not talking. Speaking of yesterday, you look a lot better. Your bruises are almost gone._

Ukon cast her a warning glare before responding.

_Yeah, they're usually gone after a day or so. But let's not talk about that. It's icky. Let's talk about something else._

_...Did you just say 'icky'?_

It took him a while to respond.

_Yes._

_Hee hee, Ukon said icky!_

Ukon blushed and glared at her.

_I will shoot you._

_No you won't._

_What goes through your head that makes you think I won't?_

_Because you don't have a gun._

_Wanna bet?_

Sakura's eyes widened and her head whipped around to stare at Ukon; he smirked and patted his pocket, looking evil. Sakura broke out into a sweat; who knows... Maybe he really was carrying a gun.

_Dear, sweet, wonderful Ukon who I bow down to in awe!_

_Damn straight. Fear me._

Shizuka glared at them both. "I'm not passing anymore notes. Wrap it up," she whispered angrily.

Ukon gave Sakura a smirk. "You heard her, pinkie. That's the end of that."

As he said this, Shino placed a folded piece of paper on Shizuka's desk. They all stared at it (except Kimimaro, for he is a suck-up student and was actually doing his work), then at Shino.

"Are you passing me a note?" Shizuka asked, eyebrow raised.

Shino shook his head and nodded at Neji.

"I thought he was mad at you," Sakura said with a frown. "I heard you guys had a problem in seventh period."

"_You_ were the problem!" Shizuka snapped, taking the note.

Ukon and Sakura looked at it expectantly.

"Do you mind?" she snapped, glaring at both of them.

They rolled their eyes and went back to their drills.

Shizuka opened the note, seeing Neji's now-familiar handwriting.

_Sorry I was such a jerk yesterday. I was mad at Sakura, not you, and I'm sorry._

(Insert little picture of a chibi Neji smiling, with a little word-bubble that said "Forgive me?")

Shizuka grinned. That was so cute!

However, being Shizuka, she had to give him hell first.

_You didn't come over to help me study yesterday either, you sick asshole! I forgot to do my Biology homework because you weren't there to remind me! I got in trouble with Kurenai! I hate you!_

Neji's jaw dropped when he got the note back, and he turned to give Shizuka a fearful look, to which she glared. He quickly wrote back.

_I'm sorry! I thought you'd still be mad at me! I didn't get back from practice till around four and I was beat!_

_Yeah, right!_

Shizuka smirked at her evilness as she passed the note back. If she played her cards right, she would have him eating out of her hand in about two minutes. _Speaking of cards... _She raised her hand. "Sensei, I have to go to my locker, I forgot my notebook." (How was that relevent?)

Iruka raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, I really did!" she cried, waving her arms angrily. "Honest!"

He sighed. "Fine. Take the pass."

"Ok." Shizuka got up, grabbed the pass, and went out into the hall. Glancing around first to make sure it was void of stalkers, of course; her previous encounters with Itachi popping up unexpectedly everywhere where beginning to bug her (Girl doesn't know how good she has it...). Seeing that he was, she went downstairs, trying to get her bearings and locate her locker. Reaching the first floor, she looked at the nearest one. 1564. Her locker was 1749. She sighed. She had a long way to go. Walking around until the numbers began going backwards, she followed them into she was well into the 1600s. Remembering where she was, she sighed with relief and started to go around the corner and to her locker when voices stopped her in her tracks.

"That's 500 a pound, you ass," said a cold, quiet voice.

"500?! What the hell?!" said a loud, obviously miffed voice. "Hell no, I ain't payin' that much for–"

"Hey, asshole, this shit's pure, alright?" the quiet voice snapped. "You don't see this every day! 500 or nothin'!"

Shizuka scowled, regaining her confidence. No way were two damn drug dealers going to keep her from her goal: her locker. Going around the corner, she stopped only for a moment to take in the scene.

Itachi was leaning against her locker, arms crossed, glaring at a much larger guy with a shaved head and huge muscles. Although Itachi was much smaller then the other boy, he seemed to be ruling the conversation.

"So, how 'bout it?" Itachi glared at the other guy.

"Fine, Uchiha, fine," the man growled, looking pissed. "What are you doing out here, though, man, isn't your locker upstairs? That's where you tell us to leave our payments and everything."

"I'm waiting for someone, get your–" Itachi suddenly noticed Shizuka, who was standing in the hall looking at them. "And here she is." Itachi tossed Shizuka a smirk, then glared at the other guy. "You drop me the payment by sixth period, asshole, got it? In my locker, 500 a pound! It better all be there or you won't get your shit."

"Yeah, yeah..." The man tossed Shizuka a glance that looked more like a leering stare, to which she glared.

Shizuka glared at Itachi as he turned and opened her locker for her. "Don't ever fuckin' deal drugs outside my locker again, asshole, got it?" she snapped, waiting for him to open it.

He rolled his eyes, stepping back so she could get what she needed. "Yeah, yeah, don't tell me what to do."

"It's my locker! I can tell you whatever the hell I want!" She went over to get her English notebook.

"The locker you can't open?" He smirked at her before reaching over and picking up the long, thick braid she'd plaited her unnaturally long, dark hair into. "What's this?"

"A braid, dumbass."

"You need to leave your hair down."

She glared at him. "Don't tell me what to do with my hair. Play with your own if you like hair."

Itachi scoffed, acknowledging the ponytail at the nape of his neck while he leaned on the locker next to hers.

"You have a leaning fetish, don't you?" she said coldly before tossing the braid over her shoulder and walking away with her notebook.

"Well, yes, I do." He pushed himself off the locker and fell into step with her. "It makes me look cool."

"Keep telling yourself that." She didn't look at him, picking up her pace.

"You have something against me?" he asked, keeping his pace even with hers.

"You're stalking me!"

"No, I'm not, read the shirt."

Shizuka glanced at his shirt ("I'm not a stalker, your house is just every place I go") and scoffed. "Isn't that a contradiction in it's self? And it's good for you that you haven't been to my house or my dad would make you eat lead."

"I'm sure." Itachi smirked.

Death glare rating: 7

"Am I invading your bubble?" he asked mockingly, reaching over to touch her side, causing her to squirm.

"Shut up and yes, you are, now leave me alone!"

"Me and my friends were very disappointed when you didn't join us yesterday, Hakai-  
teki," Itachi said smoothly, changing the subject.

"Too bad for you, I don't go out with people I barely know."

"I was giving you a chance to get to know me, Hakai-teki. I assumed you would take it."

"And I supposed it never entered that thick skull of yours that there might actually be a girl out there who didn't like you?"

He didn't even hesitate. "Nope."

"Well, I hereby prove you wrong: I don't like you." She glared at him.

"I beg to differ, Hakai-teki."

"What the fuck makes you–Hey!" Shizuka was cut off as he suddenly moved forward and put his arms around her waist, crushing her so her back was against him.

"What makes me think that?" he said softly in her hair. "Because when I do this... you blush."

"No, I don't!" Shizuka snapped, even though her cheeks felt hot.

"Really?" He turned her around so he could see her face; her cheeks where a slight pink. "What if I did this?" He bent down and kissed the corner of her mouth; not quite on the lips, but close enough to make her freeze.

Stepping back, he smirked. "I think I'm going to have to take you out for that drink now, whether you like it or not."

Shizuka recovered and snapped, "I can't go now, I have a class!"

"Oh, yes. English, 221, Iruka. Is the next class one you would miss terribly?"

"No, but my brother is in that class, and so are Kidoumaru and Tayuya. They'd notice, for sure."

"Ah. Class after that?"

"Gym. All my friends are in it. Hey, I thought you knew my schedule by heart." She gave him a critical look.

"I do. What about after school?"

"My dad would kill me."

"Dinner?"

"My dad would kill me."

A temper vein showed it's self on Itachi's forehead for a split second. "I _will_ get you on this date, bitch."

"Uh-huh, sure." Shizuka rolled her eyes. By now, they were outside Iruka's classroom. "'Bye, animal." She gave him one final glare before opening the door and closing it in his face.

"Took you long enough, Hakai-teki," Iruka said critically as she gave him back the pass.

"I got lost, ok?" she snapped, thinking of an excuse quick, before going to her seat. Neji's note sat on the flower under her desk, waiting patiently for her to pick up, which she did, as soon as she sat down and Iruka's attention wasn't focused on her anymore.

_No, honestly! You can ask Hinata in Gym if you want! I fell asleep as soon as I got home! Please don't hate me!_

Shizuka grinned. He was trying so desperately for her not to hate him. It wasn't fun to torment him anymore if he actually believed her.

_I was only kidding, I don't hate you._

Neji's reaction to this response was almost hilarious; it appeared he'd been holding his breath since the moment she'd picked up the note, and when he read her response, he left it out in relief, took a few minutes to collect himself, then wrote back.

_Don't ever do that again._

_Do what?_

_Say you hate me. I don't like people hating me._

Shizuka grinned at this, and was about to respond when the bell for lunch rang, which meant she didn't need to, as Neji came over to sit in Shino's quickly vacated seat. He turned it around so he could share Shizuka's desk again, taking out the usual assortment of healthy food (sandwich, bag of uncooked vegetables, applesauce, water) and sat down. "Uchiha not here?" he asked Sakura, nodding to Sasuke's empty chair.

Sakura nodded sadly.

"Uchiha?" Shizuka repeated, unwrapping her _bento_ box. _Isn't that was that guy called Itachi? Uchiha?_

"Yeah. Uchiha Sasuke." Neji groaned. "He's so annoying."

"No, he's not!" Sakura cried, rising to her crush's defense. "You're just jealous!"

"Jealous?" Neji scoffed. "Of what? The guy can barely go out of his own home without being bombarded by fan girls. Thank you, but no." He took a bite of his sandwich. "I'd rather retain my privacy, thanks."

"Hey, I'm one of those girls!" Sakura snapped.

"And thus, I pity you, for wasting so much of your time."

Her jaw dropped. "What?!"

"That was mean, Neji, stop it," Shizuka ordered, breaking her chopsticks apart and giving him a tap on the nose with the other end (the one she doesn't eat off). "Say sorry."

"Why? It's the truth." Neji gave her a blank look.

"Lesson one," Ukon said as several temper veins appeared in Sakura's forehead. "Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to say it."

Sakura stopped being mad to laugh at this. "How would you know, Ukon?"

He shrugged. "I live with her." He gestured to Shizuka. "How do you think I know?"

Shizuka turned to glare at him. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Exhibit A." Ukon yawned and stretched before getting ready for a nap.

Sakura looked down at the lunch she had made Sasuke. He hadn't had a lunch yesterday, or on the first day of school, so she'd decided to fix that by making him one herself. But, he wasn't here today to eat it... "Um, Ukon?" She blushed slightly, going into Hinata-mode by twiddling the knot of the cloth binding the _bento_ box around in her fingers.

He lifted his sleepy head from his pillow (a.k.a., folded arms) and opened a bleary, half-awake eye. "Aye?"

"Do... Do you want this lunch?" Sakura gave him a nice smile, holding it up.

Shizuka and Neji stopped eating, looking at the two.

Ukon looked at the box. "I'm not going to eat your lunch. I don't believe in anorexics."

Sakura blushed slightly. "No, I have my own! This was for someone else, but I want you to have it."

Ukon looked at the box for a little longer. Shizuka and Neji continued watching both of them warily. Finally, Ukon spoke. "Eh, fine." He held out a hand, for it across Kimimaro and Shizuka, his head still rested on his other arm.

Sakura smiled, giving it to him, and got out her own _bento._

Ukon sat up and looked at it. He raised an eyebrow. "It's pink."

"Mm-hmm!" She nodded, smiling brightly. "And the cloth is scented! It makes it pretty!"

His eyebrow skyrocketed as he unwrapped the cloth and sniffed it. He got a weird look on his face before setting it aside and opening the box, peeking inside.

There was a long silence.

"Sakura..." He lifted a small, pink thing out of the box with his chopsticks. "...What's this?"

She looked. "An octopus. See? I made it with eyes and legs and everything!"

"I can see that." He tried not to look disgusted. "Why is it pink?"

Neji choked on a carrot.

"I like pink," Sakura answered innocently.

Ukon sighed and shook his head. "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura... If you want to impress Uchiha with your 'fabulous home cooking,' don't make his food pink."

Neji nearly died on the carrot; Shizuka patted him on the back sympathetically. After realizing that this wasn't going to work, she punched him in the back with her fist until he coughed up the carrot.

"Please don't kill my goalie," Genma called, coming in to give Iruka a folder full of (unimportant and nameless) documents.

"Hey, coach," Neji said, still gasping for breath.

"That's your coach?" Shizuka asked while the two teachers talked at Iruka's desk.

Neji nodded, eating another carrot (doesn't learn fast, does he?).

"That's the guy who kept you till frickin' four thirty so you couldn't come help me homework?"

_I don't like where this is going..._ He nodded.

"Blah blah blah, teacher stuff, blah blah blah," said Iruka, up at the front of the room.

"Blah blah blah, soccer stuff, blah blah–Yes?" Genma turned when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked down. "Who are you?"

Shizuka glared up at him, hands on her hips.

Insert long silence.

"Can I help you?" Genma asked, raising an eyebrow, barely phased.

She continued to glare up at him. "Are you Neji's coach?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Did you keep him at practice till four thirty?"

Meanwhile, in the back of the room, Neji sunk lower and lower in his chair, wishing he could disappear.

"Yes, I did," Genma answered, smirking at Neji's actions, which he could see but Shizuka couldn't, since her back was towards him.

"Neji's supposed to tutor me after school," she said bluntly.

"That's very nice. What about it?"

"Did you know that because you kept him at practice till four thirty, he couldn't tutor me?"

"No, I didn't. So?"

"Did you know I had a Biology assignment due today that I needed his help with?"

"No, I didn't." Genma smirked. This kid was interesting.

"Do you want me to fail Biology?"

"I suppose not."

"Then don't keep him at school so late," Shizuka snapped before turning on her heel and going back to her seat.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Genma said, giving her a mock salute.

Meanwhile, Neji wished he could just spontaneously combust and get it over with.

**(After class)**

"God damn Social Studies," Shizuka grumbled, stalking out of the class with Kimimaro, who was smiling at her behind her back. _I'd rather go on a date with that jerk-off then go to this damn class..._

"God damn _you_!" Neji cried, following them. "I'm never going to hear the end of this!"

"I'm sure there was a point in there somewhere." Shizuka yawned, stretching. "Ok, come on, Kimimaro, time for torture."

Grumbling darkly to himself, Neji went down another hall, leaving Sakura and Ukon alone.

Sakura turned on Ukon. "You weren't really going to shoot me, were you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out, chickie," he said with a smirked, going up the nearest stairwell.

Sakura's jaw dropped. (**He really was going to shoot us!**) _N... no, I'm sure he was kidding, he didn't really.. have a gun..._ she told herself, going off to find her next class.

**(Language Arts)**

Sakura sighed hugely, tapping her pencil rhythmically on her desktop, starring at Sasuke's empty seat, which was diagonal from hers. _Sasuke-kun isn't here yet... Maybe he's not coming at all... I hope he's ok..._

"Sakura!" Ino hissed, jerking Sakura out of her thoughts. When she had her attention, Ino nodded towards the front of the room.

Looking up, Sakura saw the teacher glaring at her. "Um... What was the question?"

"Define the verb and subject in this sentence," Asuma ordered, pointing to the bored; he was very grumpy, as he could not smoke in the classroom, and was having serious nicotine symptoms.

"Um... The verb is 'shot' and the subject is 'he'," Sakura answered, recovering quickly, which got Asuma's attention off her for the time being. She sighed heavily. _That was close... I hope Sasuke-kun is ok..._

**(Gym)**

Ino smirked at Sakura as they left the locker room. It was an evil, plotting smirk, and Sakura read it instantly. _Oh, crap! _"Shizuka, did you get an upperclassman to agree to giving me the flower?" she whispered desperately to her friend.

Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

Sakura groaned. "You didn't, did you?"

"You need to remind me of these things, ok?" Shizuka sighed, turning to scrutinize her group of male upperclassmen friends. "Ok, take your pick, and I'll tell them to say they gave it to you."

"Um... Ukon." Sakura pointed to the older twin, who was participating today.

"Ok, Uk–Oh, crap." Shizuka stopped.

Ino had, in all her innocent dumb-blondeness, taken Sakura's pointing to mean that she was pointing out the guy for her to ask, so she went right up to Ukon and said, "Did you give Sakura a flower in her locker?"

Ukon starred down at her for a few minutes, then up at Sakura, who instantly flushed, then down at Ino again, and shook his head. "No. Giving flowers is stupid," he said bluntly, turning away.

Sakura's jaw dropped. _It's not stupid..._ Shizuka, seeing the look on her face, turned and gave Sakkon the biggest death glare she possessed, and he, taking the hint, said, "It was me, not Ukon. Sakura helped me with some homework so I was thanking her."

"Oh." Ino pouted slightly. "That's so incredibly lame!" she cried, turning away to go talk to Hinata.

Sakkon just shrugged and gave Shizuka an "Are you happy?" look before turning away.

"Ok, kiddies," Jiraiya shouted, getting their attentions, "due to the fact that the school board believes that starting you out in rugby and volleyball is too difficult... today, we're having a three-part race! I'm going to divide you all into pairs, and no, you don't get to pick, so pay attention!"

There were instant groans at this as Jiraiya began randomly pulling names out of his head. Ten minutes later, they were all in pairs, and hardly anyone was happy about it except Hinata, but that was only because she was paired with Naruto. TenTen was paired with Kiba, Lee was paired with Shikamaru, Ino was paired with Chouji, Sakkon was paired with Shino, Kimimaro (who had decided to participate today for some reason) was paired with Jiroubou, Tayuya was paired with Kidoumaru (but only because they had been sending Jiraiya death glares all week), Shizuka was paired with Neji, and Sakura was paired with Ukon.

"Ok, go get in your pairs and I'll explain the rules of the race!" Jiraiya called, going into the equipment room.

The teams, grumbling loudly with a few exceptions, went to stand by their partners; Ino looked like she wanted to kill Chouji and Chouji looked like he wanted to be killed; Naruto was trying to strike up a conversation with Hinata but Hinata could only stare and mumble; Sakkon and Shino just plain didn't talk, but had a mutual agreement that they were going to win this thing; Kimimaro looked like he really didn't want to be here, and Jiroubou looked worried, like always; TenTen had Kiba in a headlock already; Shikamaru was trying to rip his ears off while Lee preached to him about the flare of youth; Shizuka and Neji were glaring at each other, as if daring the other to complain about the match-up; in fact, the only group that really seemed in harmony with each other was Tayuya and Kidoumaru, but that was only because they were friends.

Sakura sighed and went over to Ukon, who was by himself now, since all his friends were in groups, kneeling on the hardwood floor. "Um... hi," she said, to let him know she was there.

He merely glanced up, nodded, and went back to starring at the floor. Sakura groaned inwardly; he was back to being socially withdrawn again... This was going to be harder then she thought.

"Look," he said finally; at first she thought he was going to apologize for saying flowers were stupid, but all he said was, "I want to beat my brother and he has a guy on his team, so just make sure you don't mess up."

Sakura's jaw dropped. (**Oh, it's on, now! Bring it, fairy!** Inner-Sakura shouted, brandishing her fists. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?!"

"I'm just saying..." he said quietly, looking away.

Sakura glared. Ok, this boy was definitely going down! How dare he sexist-ize her! She could beat him any day!

"Ok!" Jiraiya came out of the equipment room with a large box full of random things. "The first part of the race is a three-legged race with you and your partners. The first five teams across the finish line move onto the next round. The second part of the race, you have to climb across these monkey bars," he gestured to the monkey bars that magically appeared (you know, those bar things that kids climb across? On swing sets? Yeah) "with one of you going backwards, with your legs entwined together."

There were instant exclamations of protest at this, but Jiraiya ignored them and continued. "The first three teams finished with the monkey bars get to go on to the next round, which I have yet to think of, but I promise, it'll be good."

Sakura sighed. The first round was no problem; she was fast, and she figured Ukon had to be, as well, because... well, because he was Ukon. She glanced over the other teams as they all lined up to have their legs tied together. Like Ukon said, Sakkon and Shino's team would be a problem, and so would Neji and Shizuka; Neji was on the soccer team, which meant he worked out and ran around a lot, and Shizuka... well, yeah, she was pretty fast, too, from what Sakura had seen of her running out of the limo to glomp Neji the morning they got their uniforms. TenTen and Kiba might also be a problem, since Kiba was just a natural live wire, and TenTen just had multitudes of energy that Sakura had no idea where she got it from.

After everyone was tied up and in a line at one end of the gym, Sakura and Ukon instinctively put their arms around each other's waist and tested the connection; Neji and Shizuka had already done the same, though Neji blushed furiously and it was Shizuka's turn to try to spontaneously combust. Shikamaru looked ready to fall asleep on his feet, Hinata was blushing so much she could barely breathe, Sakkon looked ready to kill something (or someone) when actually, he was just excited, and Tayuya and Kidoumaru looked like they just didn't care (which they didn't). Ino looked like she wanted to kill everything and everyone in front of her, but, thankfully, that wasn't possible, as she had a deadweight known as Chouji tied to her ankle.

"Ready?" called Jiraiya from the other end of the gym.

"Middle foot first," Ukon whispered to Sakura. "Then swing it like a crutch. Got it?"

"Set!"

Sakura nodded her understanding, bracing herself.

"Go!"

Sakura and Ukon were the first to take off, having made a system; they were closely followed by Sakkon and Shino, who apparently had a similar system, and Neji and Shizuka, who looked like they were just running as fast as they could to get it over with as soon as possible. Hinata was running like she'd never run before, so she could help "Naruto-kun" into the next round. Tayuya and Kidoumaru where jogging amiably, looking as if they had been doing this all their lives and it wasn't that important.

However... the other teams...

"Shikamaru-san, please move! You can't sleep now!"

"KIBA, YOU IDIOT! HOW DARE YOU TRIP ME UP?!"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT, TOO! IT'S YOUR FOOT, TOO, TOO!"

"Chouji, why are you eating?!"

"Shikamaru-san! Please!"

"Let's just watch, Jiroubou... They'll come back eventually..."

"Yes, sir."

Needless to say, we know who won the first round.

Gasping for breath, Ukon and Sakura, who were first over the finish line, quickly untied themselves and ran over to the monkey bars. Ukon got up first, so he was facing her, and hung there, waiting for her to get on. Then, they quickly wrapped their legs together and started climbing across (Yeah, Sakura's scary when she's determined). Sakkon and Shino, who had come across barely a second after Ukon and Sakura, untied themselves and got on the monkey bars with equal speed, barely a foot behind Ukon and Sakura, who were only half-way (there are five separate monkey bars). Shizuka and Neji followed, not bothering to untie themselves, since it wasn't specified in the rules, and jumped onto the monkey bars, Neji going backwards; the rope made it so their legs were still connected, but they didn't have to do anything that would make Neji's head explode from blushing so much.

Tayuya and Kidoumaru reached the monkey bars and looked up at them, then at each other.

"Nah." They sat down.

SNG feels sorry for Hinata and Naruto. They made it to the monkey bars and everything, and were about to climb, but Hinata had to realize that her bare legs were touching Naruto's, and she let go of the bar, causing them both to drop, and got disqualified. Don't you feel sorry for them? I do.

Anyways.

Sakkon and Shino finished barely a second before Ukon and Sakura, which only served to piss Ukon off; however, Neji and Shizuka had them both beat, finishing about five seconds after they started on the bars (they're going fast because Neji is in front and he's pulling Shizuka like a rag doll).

"Ok, what's the next round?" Sakura asked, as Ukon bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

"Oh are you done already?" Jiraiya looked up at them all from where he was scribbling "behavioral notes" on his big old "teacher book". "Ok, how 'bout kareoke?" (I have no idea how to spell that, and it's not on my spell check.. Sob!)

Sakura readily agreed; she knew she could sing, and she also knew Neji could sing; he'd been in the eighth grade boys' choir when she was in seventh grade. Sakkon and Ukon agreed, as well, as did Shino (if you're wondering why Shino is being so agreeable, I figured, he is kind of an agreeable guy, isn't he? I mean, he passes notes, changes seats... He's a pretty nice guy). The twins glanced over at Shizuka, grinning slightly.

"KAREOKE?!" she exploded, hair standing on end, looking ready to kill.

"Do you want to forfeit?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!"

"Then do the kareoke." Jiraiya got up to get the kareoke machine out of the equipment room (This room is like a teachers' magic hat, dude!)

"...Oh, _man_!" Shizuka groaned, tugging at her hair.

"Ok, I'm going to assign you guys some songs..." Jiraiya looked through his CD collection. "Ok, Neji and Shizuka have... this song thing..." He held up a CD, which Neji took. "And, Sakkon and Shino can have this one, I guess..." He gave Shino another CD. "And Ukon and Sakura can have this one." Getting out a set of microphones, he said, "Sakkon and Shino go first."

Shino put in the CD and took one of the microphones, waiting for the words to show up on the screen.

When the music came on, there were a lot of mixed reactions.

Ukon burst out laughing.

Sakkon's jaw dropped.

Neji and Sakura turned red trying not to laugh.

Shino went "..."

Shizuka screamed.

"NOOOOOOOOO! NOT 'LOOK AT US NOW'!" she screamed, pulling at her hair in agony.

"I _refuse_!" Sakkon shouted, throwing his microphone down and storming away.

Shino just shrugged and sat down on the bleachers with the rest of the class, who had burst out laughing at Sakkon's reaction.

"...I like that song!" Jiraiya snapped, before putting in Neji and Shizuka's CD.

The music began.

"AH, HELL, NO!" Neji threw down his microphone, as well. "Man, you are one twisted... person, sensei!"

Shizuka, meanwhile, was in trauma.

"Ok, fine, be that way, D.D.R. hater," Jiraiya grumbled, putting in Ukon and Sakura's CD.

Ukon's eyes widened in horror.

Sakura giggled.

Neji's jaw dropped.

Lee cried.

Ino starred.

TenTen had Kiba in a headlock.

Chouji and Jiroubou fought over chips.

Shizuka frothed at the mouth.

Sakkon ran back into the gym. "Sing that song, Ukon! I fuckin' dare you!" he shouted, pointing at his brother, forgetting for a moment that he was still in school (Not that Jiraiya cared).

Ukon groaned. His competitive nature wouldn't let him back down. "...Fine... Come on, Sakura."

**(Lyrics posted at the end, with designated parts)**

**(After class)**

"AND THAT DOESN'T LEAVE THIS ROOM, DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Ukon shouted at the rest of the class, who were all laughing hysterically.

"Well, on the bright side," Sakura said, surpressing a grin as she patted him on the shoulder, "we beat your brother."

"Yeah..."

"On the bad side, however, your ego is totally shot." She grinned hugely at him as he blushed.

Ukon blushed furiously and stormed out of the room. "Shut up! Leave me alone!"

* * *

Ok, well, that seemed like a good place to end it! (Kenshin grin) Now, I know you all are like "DUDE WHAT DID HE HAVE TO SING?!" so here's the lyrics, as promised, with the different singers' parts shown.

Review answers are after the lyrics!

(P.S.: The comedy is listening to the lyrics and picturing Ukon, with his uberly deep voice, singing it... That and the fact that he and Sakkon are kind of... womanly...)

* * *

**Sakura: **I'm going out tonight-I'm feelin' alrightGonna let it all hang out

**Ukon: **Wanna make some noise-really raise my voice, Yeah, I wanna scream and shout

**Sakura: **No inhibitions-make no conditions, Get a little outta line

**Ukon: **I ain't gonna act politically correctI only wanna have a good time

**Both: **The best thing about being a woman  
Is the prerogative to have a little fun and...

**Sakura: **Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy-forget I'm a lady  
Men's shirts-short skirts  
Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin' it in style

**Ukon: **Oh, oh, oh, get in the action-feel the attractionColor my hair-do what I dareOh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-yeah, to feel the way I feel

**Both: **Man! I feel like a woman!

**Sakura: **The girls need a break-tonight we're gonna take  
The chance to get out on the town

**Ukon: **We don't need romance-we only wanna dance  
We're gonna let our hair hang down

**Both: **The best thing about being a womanIs the prerogative to have a little fun and...

**Sakura: **Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy-forget I'm a lady  
Men's shirts-short skirts  
Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin' it in style

**Ukon: **Oh, oh, oh, get in the action-feel the attraction Color my hair-do what I dare Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-yeah, to feel the way I feel

**Both: **Man! I feel like a woman!

**Both: **The best thing about being a woman Is the prerogative to have a little fun and...

**Sakura: **Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy-forget I'm a lady  
Men's shirts-short skirts  
Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin' it in style

**Ukon: **Oh, oh, oh, get in the action-feel the attractionColor my hair-do what I dareOh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-yeah, to feel the way I feel

**Both: **Man! I feel like a woman!

**Sakura: **I get totally crazy  
Can you feel it

**Ukon: **Come, come, come on baby I feel like a woman

* * *

Sigh. He feels like a woman, but he wants to die. Lol.

Ukon: I WILL FUCKIN' KILL YOU, SNG!

o.O No, you can't, I haven't explained why you said flowers were stupid!

Ukon: THEY ARE STUPID!

Ino: OI!

Ok... Review answers! There's a lot this time, so bare with me.

**Dragonman180:** Lol upperclassmen suck. No, I'm totally kidding, they're hilarious because they think they own the school; they were there for four years, big whoop. Anyway, I like fics were Itachi gets smacked around; adds a bit of realism to the storyline. Because this is a normal high school, they can't be inhumanly fast like they are in the manga or anime. Lol, I'm sure he'll consider giving Naruto swirlies, but Itachi's relationship to Sasuke (oh god, not yaoi... sick minds...) isn't really established yet, is it?

Oh my god someone from Missouri just called my house... Anyway.

**Kie-san: **Lol, you and DM180's names are recognized by my spell check now! Feel happy. Lol. No, they're not Ninjas, and... sigh. Kie-san, Kie-san, Kie-san... I can't tell you anything yet! It would ruin the story! As for the AMVs... er... which ones? I have (counts) 56 AMVs! (I went on mad downloading this morning... It was fun!) Hmm... (looks for good ones) I wanna find you some with good timing, so you don't waste time and effort........ Er... Let me get back to you, ok?

**Rose: **Okies! Here's the chappie! :)

**SilentAdaon: **TEN-NEJ-SHIZ TRIANGLE?!!?!?!!!!!! HELL NO!!! God, ew! I'm sorry, but ew! I _hate_ TenTen-Neji pairings. Hate them like Shizuka hates school: with a sickness that threatens to crawl out my eyeballs. Sorry, but, no. (Tho there may be hints of one-sidedness... GASP! TY! I HAVE AN IDEA!!! -kisses your hand-) As for Naruto... Hm. He hasn't been showing up, has he? Oh well. He will, don't worry!

**Mika: **(runs away blushing and screaming) STOP COMPLIMENTING ME SO MUCH!!! (Ty, btw)

**SkyBlueSunshine:** Well, I don't know, you tell me... Lol, I can't say anything just yet... it's class-ee-fied infma-shee-on, that is!

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin:** Ah, gotta love the love-triangles. He does have a lot, doesn't he...? Oh well. I love love-triangles!

**AznNarutoGrl-91:** Go fish is the only two-man card game I know... I've never played poker or anything! (Runs away)


	5. Deja Vu and Serendipity

**Crimson Love

* * *

**

O.o

Kyuubi: ....

(Shifty eyes)

o.O

Kyuubi:....?

LOOKIT ALL THOSE REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!! (glomps reviewers) TY TY TY TY TY TY!!!!!!!!

Hee hee... I am happy!

Kyuubi: No shit.

(Ignore) Anyway... As it turns out, I love writing high school fics! It's so much fun! I recommend everyone tries it at least once!

I realized something about myself and my writing habits... I never know what's going to happen, either! (Sweat drop) No, see, listen, ok? The plot for my fics kind of develops as I write it, even if it's an old one, like this one. For example, when I was writing _Apprentice,_ I had no idea that Shizuka was going to end up with Itachi. Sigh. Unbelievable, right? Thought so. But then, after a while, I just got used to it and decided, yeah, this is how it's gonna be. Hard to understand? Oh well, tough luck.

Anyways, where was I going with that? Oh yeah. Do you guys believe in reincarnation? No? Too bad. I decided something: this is the reincarnated sequel of _Apprentice._ Hee hee.

Does that make any sense at all?

It kind of did in my head...

But anyway, don't let the reincarnation fool you: I highly doubt this fic will end up like _Apprentice_ did. Where would the fun be? Who knows, maybe Shizuka really won't end up with Itachi...

PLEASE DON'T HURT ME, JAZZ! (Ducks)

Ok! Now that I'm done babbling for now... ON WITH THE FIC!

(Coincidentally, _Apprentice _was only supposed to be ten chapters long... We all know what happened with that)

(Review answers and Important Chapter Information at the end)

* * *

**Chapter Five: Deja Vu and Serendipity

* * *

**

Neji frowned, looking at the practice schedule posted outside of the boys' locker room. The practice schedule was a calender full of dates for teams to meet, and he'd gotten into the habit of checking it every day after gym classes. "There's no soccer practice today," he mused out loud, going to sit on the bleachers.

"That's not my fault," Shizuka said at once, in the process of tying her hair back in a ponytail.

"Yeah right, it's not," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and sitting down. "But, on the bright side, this means I can come over and help you make up that Biology assignment."

"What Biology assignment?" Shizuka asked innocently, starring off into space.

"The Biology assignment you were so hung up over."

"Oh, that one." She shrugged, leaning forward to put her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. "No worries."

"...Why?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I burned it."

Neji starred. "All of it?"

"Yep."

"....You do know that homework counts for 15 percent of your grade, right?"

"Psh-haw, it's only 15 percent." She held her hands up carelessly before replacing them under her chin.

"Yeah, but it makes a lot of difference when you figure how low your grade is going to be if you never turn in homework."

"If you're going to preach again about how homework helps understanding the subject, don't bother," she said tiredly, closing her eyes.

Neji smirked, but didn't "preach about homework", as she so called it. (Actually, he preferred the word 'lecture' but oh well...) Instead, he occupied himself with looking at her friends, who were sitting behind Shizuka; Tayuya and Kidoumaru were grinning at Ukon, Jiroubou was trying to make himself invisible (nice try), Kimimaro was asleep, leaning against Shizuka, Sakkon was still chuckling to himself, and Ukon was sending Jiraiya death glares that would have killed lesser men.

"Hyuuga."

Neji looked down at the gym floor; Genma smirked up at him, hands in his pockets, chewing on the toothpick. "Coach?"

"Change of plans on the schedule," Genma said casually. "I need just you to stay after and play goalie for the freshmen try-outs. It'll be good practice for you. Ok?"

Neji nodded. "Sure, coach."

"Be here at 2:15," Genma ordered before leaving the gym.

Neji felt a sudden blast of killing intent coming from behind him. "Well, what did you want me to say?!"

"Coulda said 'no'..." Shizuka muttered grumpily, getting up when the bell rang.

"Ouch." Kimimaro lifted himself from where he'd fallen between the seats, his support gone. "That wasn't nice."

Neji groaned inwardly. This next class was going to be the death of him... he could tell.

**(After school)**

Neji bolted out of Kakashi's class as soon as the bell rang; he'd been wrong: it hadn't been the death of him, but it'd come close. He'd never gotten that many death glares and attempts at murder ever before in his life. Seeing Shizuka and Kimimaro heading out of the class, he ran away to the gym as fast as he could to avoid receiving anymore of said death glares.

Sakura raised an eyebrow when she came out of her class, seeing Neji retreat in the direction of the gym. "What'd he do now, Shizuka?"

"He's fuckin' obsessed with soccer, that's what," Shizuka said coldly, stalking down the hall in the direction of her locker.

"Lee-san says he's a really good player," Sakura said with a shrug. "I guess he's just deticated."

"Yeah, yeah..." Shizuka entered the combination to her locker.

"Why do you leave stuff in it if you can't open it?" Sakura asked, grinning, as Shizuka tried, in vain, to open her locker.

"Shut up!" Turning to the locker, Shizuka shouted, "OBEY ME, DAMMIT!" entering the combination again.

Nothing happen.

(Wow, shocked you there, didn't I?)

"ARGH!" Shizuka banged her head on the cold metal, utterly furious now. "I am in no mood for this, dammit!" One would think she would try and remember where to hit it with her knuckles, like Itachi, right? Well, Shizuka has the attention span of a rock, and a dead rock at that, and she couldn't remember where to hit it. So, instead, she resorted to banging on every square inch of it with her fists while Kimimaro and Sakura grinned behind her. "OPEN! I DEMAND THAT YOU OPEN!"

"Hakai-teki, don't hit lockers," Kurenai ordered, passing by.

Shizuka grumbled an incoherent answer, entering her combination.

"Also, I wanted you to stay after for a few minutes or so and work on today's test with me." Kurenai held up the test that the class had, indeed, taken that morning, to gage their knowledge of the subject. "Needless to say, you failed."

Shizuka tossed a death glare at the 2.3 percentage on the paper, then rolled her eyes. (Sakura: "How did you get 2.3?!") "I have to go home."

"I'm sure your parents will understand." Kurenai was unrelenting.

_Only because you haven't_ met_ them yet, bitch-slut-whore woman,_ Shizuka growled to herself. She sighed. "Ok... Fine. I'll be there in a sec."

Kurenai nodded and headed back down the hall.

Shizuka gave up on the locker for a moment or so and turned to Kimimaro. "Tell Daddy I had to stay after for a teacher, ok?"

Kimimaro nodded, shrugging.

"And have the driver give Sakura a ride home, ok?"

"What's going on?" Sakkon asked curiously, coming up with Ukon, Kidoumaru, Tayuya and Jiroubou.

"I have to talk to Kurenai about the test," Shizuka said coldly, exchanging phone numbers with Sakura.

"Uh... I think one of us should stay after with you," Ukon said worriedly.

Shizuka gave him a look. "I'm _fine,_ ok? I'm not a baby anymore. Just ask Daddy to call me when he gets home and I'll tell him, if he doesn't believe you. Simple as that."

"Shizuka-sama, I _really_ think–" Shizuka cut Ukon off.

"I'll see you guys later, ok, call me, Sakura, bye." Waving over her shoulder, Shizuka went back into the depths of the school, wishing it would just burn. With Kurenai chained inside it.

Her mind giving her these wonderful mental pictures, she went upstairs to Kurenai's classroom.

Sakura turned to Ukon once the others had gone outside to the limos. "Will you get in trouble?" she asked quietly.

"Most likely."

"Oh... Man..." Sakura fished out a pen and took his hand, writing her number on the back of it. "Call me if you need me, ok?"

He looked down at the number, then up at her. "Didn't I tell you not to worry about me?"

She shrugged. "Call me anyway," she ordered, going over to the car Kimimaro was riding in.

**(Two hours later)**

"...And that's why I decided to tape every episode, because you can't miss one, since the story moves so fast!" Kurenai chirped to Shizuka, who slowly felt her soul being robbed of her.

_Shut up!_ Shizuka shouted in her head, pulling at her hair. _Shut up! SHUT _UP_! You've been talking longer then I could possibly imagine! How your vocal cords are still able to function is a mystery of the_ _MODERN WORLD!_ _You've harassed every single person who entered the classroom, including me and the janitor, to trade cards with you! There's now a strange smell in the room! I can only hope a priest is available to remove it! Now if you would please DIE!_

"Say, ever heard of Yu-Gi-Oh?" Kurenai asked, grinning.

"..." _I don't like where this is headed..._

Shizuka was spared the horror, however, as a student came in and said, "Kurenai-sensei, the head mistress wants to see you."

Kurenai sighed. Then she grinned hugely. "Maybe she'll trade cards with me!"

Shizuka was sorely desperate for a gun.

After Kurenai left, the student turned back to Shizuka, smirking. Her jaw dropped. She knew that smirk. "What do you want?!"

Itachi feigned looking hurt. "This wounds me, Hakai-teki. You're not happy to see me?"

She glared at him. "No! All you've done since I met you is insult me, get me in trouble, sell drugs outside my locker, and confuse the shit out of me! Go away!"

"Ohh... Don't be like that." He leaned against the dissection table she was sitting at (You know, those long black tables in science rooms?). "How did I get you in trouble? You seem to do fine by yourself in that department."

"You made me late for–"

"Iruka? Damn him. He's so annoying."

"No, he's not!"

He shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "Look, I'll make it up to you."

"How?" she snapped, putting her binder back in her book bag. She planned on leaving, anyway, since Kurenai probably wouldn't be back any time soon.

"How 'bout you and me, out for that drink?"

"I'm not allowed to drink," she snapped. "And neither are you."

"So? That didn't stop you that one time in seventh grade, did it?" He smirked.

Her jaw dropped. "How did you–"

"Hakai-teki, Hakai-teki..." He shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you I know all about you? That includes your criminal record."

She flushed. "I'm supposed to go home as soon as I'm done here."

"You always do what your daddy tells you?"

She flush deepened. "No! Besides," she recovered, "you can't just ask I girl out when she doesn't know anything about you!"

"Oh, yes, I can." The smirk reappeared. "There are a lot of 'can' and 'can't' rules with you, isn't there?"

"I'm not going to go out with you!" she snapped angrily, getting up and slinging her book bag over her shoulder, exiting the room.

"Why not? Afraid your little man-thing will get angry and break up with you?" his taunting voice called after her.

Shizuka stormed back into the room, face flushed. "He is _not_ my boyfriend!"

"Then you should have no problem going on a date with me, right?" His smirk was nerve-racking.

Shizuka gave him a death-glare, willing him to burn to ashes. When he didn't, she sighed. "Fine. But only for a while! If I get in trouble, your ass is mine!"

"Oh, you wish," he chuckled, getting up and leading her out of the building.

"Wait, where are we going now?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow as he headed towards the student parking lot.

Itachi returned the eyebrow-raise. "Surely you didn't think we would be walking?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm dense, you fucker! Just because I'm going on a _date _with you doesn't mean I really _am _stupid!"

"Then, come on." He went up to a black Cadillac escalade, taking a ring of keys out of his pocket. Smirking, Itachi opened the passenger side door for her. "After you."

Shizuka gave him a scowl for his cheesiness, but got in the car anyway. It was nice, clean, and had that new-car scent with an after-taste of cigarettes. She saw why when he got in the car, closed the door, and took out a pack of cigarettes. Putting one in his mouth, he caught the look she was giving him as he pushed in the lighter mechanism under the radio (you know, those things you push that heat up and you use em to light cigarettes?). "What? Want one?" He offered the pack to her.

She glared. "I don't smoke."

He shrugged as the lighter-thing popped out again, and used it to light his cigarette. "Fine by me, you're too young to even try to smoke, anyway," he said, puffing smoke as he got the cig started up. Putting the lighter back, he put the keys in the ignition and starting the car.

"Hey, you're not that much older then me!" she pointed out as he backed the car out of the parking lot. "You got no right to tell me what I can and can't do!"

"And yet, you seem to tell me what I can and can't do all the time." He drove smoothly out into the street.

"I'm a girl!"

"That you are, love. What of it?"

"Girls are the dominant species!"

"Are they?"

"Sha!" (Duh!)

Itachi smirked. "I suppose that's true," he said with a shrug, strumming his long, slender fingers on the steering wheel.

"Damn straight, it's true!"

**(Meanwhile)**

Neji grinned to himself, tying his hair back with his black bandana. A few of the freshmen who'd come out for the soccer team milled around, talking or waiting for their rides to come. That had been a _good_ try-out. He'd rolled around on the ground, thrown himself on the ground, got kicked twice, had a large welt growing on one shoulder, and was rather sore, and all these things, in Neji's mind, qualified as the results of a _good_ try-out. (Yes, ladies, guys (and H-R, for that matter) DO find that throwing themselves on the ground after balls is fun... What do you think wrestling was made for? They like it! (SNG has four male cousins, all older then her, who are involved in sports, so she knows))

A sudden angry shout snapped Neji's attention out of soccer-world and into the present, his guard instantly going up.

He paused.

"Shizuka?" He raised an eyebrow as said black-haired, sun-glass-wearing girl was seen walking towards the student parking lot, yelling at a tall, black-haired senior Neji recognized as the bane of his sanity, the much-hated, much-envied Itachi. Neji started to scowl, then thought it over. Why was Shizuka still in school and... Neji's eyes nearly popped out of his head. _Getting in a car with Itachi?! The fuck?!_

Neji caught a snippet of what Shizuka was saying as her overly-loud voice trailed to his ears.

"...Just because I'm going on a _date _with you doesn't mean I really _am_ dense!"

Neji felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as her words echoed in his ears like a broken record.

"...I'm going on a _date_ with you..."

"...going on a_ date _with you..."

"..._date_ with you..."

To say that Neji was a little bit crushed would have to be the under-statement of the year. Actually, Neji felt like dying. However, he refused to believe that a simple date could make him feel this bad, and, taking out his cell phone (yes, he has a cell phone; what part of "Hyuuga estate" didn't you get?), he called around home for a ride.

But of course, we all know that a "simple date" _could_ make him feel this bad, just like Genma knew, standing just inside the doors of the school, that Neji was in serious denial.

**(Later that night)**

Sakura picked up the phone and dialed a well-known number before collapsing on her bed and waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sasuke-kun," she said sweetly, twirling her hair around her finger. "You weren't in school today, what happened?"

"Strep throat."

"Ow, really?" He didn't really sound that good. "How'd you get it?"

"My brother's friend had it."

Sakura started to say something, then stopped. "You have a brother?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Hm." She decided to let it drop. "Did you take anything? Do you want me to bring you something?"

"Yes and no. I have soup and stuff."

"Ok, good. Are you going to be in school tomorrow?"

"...Why?" He sounded suspicious.

"Well, because I made you a lunch today and I wanted to know if you wanted one again." _Oh yeah,_ Sakura reminded herself, _I was going to make Ukon a lunch again, too... Non-pink, this time, too._

"I don't think I will be."

"Oh... ok." Sakura shrugged it off, even though she was disappointed.

"I have to go."

"Um... ok, I'll talk to you later, ok, Sasuke-kun?"

"Sure. And... Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Click.

Sakura's eyes widened. _He said thank you... but... for what?_

(**Hell yeah! Love sprouts from the strangest of places!**)

**(Later)**

Sakura yawned slightly, sitting at her desk and sucking on a popsicle, working on her homework. Personally, Sakura hated Geometry. But Gai-sensei's... teaching methods... tended to keep the facts about lines and points burned into her brain, so she had no choice but to do her homework.

**Flashback**

"_AND CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT A LINE IS?" Gai bellowed, whipping around from the chalkboard, chalk in hand._

"_Um... those straight thingies...?"_

"_RIGHT YOU ARE, UZUMAKI! NOW! CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT A POINT IS??"_

**End flashback**

Sakura shuddered, finishing her explanation of The Dot, when her phone rang. Glad for any excuse to not have to do her homework (Jeez, I'm making Sakura such a bad student...) she picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"...Sakura...?" said a quiet, pained voice on the other end.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Ukon?"

"Yeah..."

"Are you ok? You sound hurt! Did you get in trouble?"

"Don't worry about that... Is Shizuka-sama over your house?"

"Um, no, I haven't seen her since school today. Why?"

"She... didn't come home..." There were long pauses during his sentences, like he was either catching his breath, or having problems breathing.

"She didn't come home?!" Sakura shouted, jumping up.

"Sakura... don't yell... My head hurts..."

"Sorry, sorry," she apologized, lowering her voice a great deal. "Where are you? Are you looking for her?"

"Yeah... He sent us all out to... look for her..."

"Ok, well, come by my house and pick me up, ok? I'm going to help. I'll call Neji, too." Not giving him a chance to protest, Sakura hung up and ran around her room, getting ready to go. Her parents were visiting her grandmother's, so they wouldn't be a problem. She was still wearing her school uniform, so she just got her shoes and coat and went downstairs to wait for Ukon to come get her. On an impulse, she grabbed her mother's First Aid kit, as well, and stuffed it in one of the big pockets of her coat.

Going into the kitchen, Sakura got a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote her parents a quick note, in case they got home before she did.

_Mom&Dad–_

_I went out for a walk, I'll be back before nine, don't worry about me._

–_Sakura_

"That should be enough," she mused, putting it on the table and using the salt and pepper as a paperweight. Looking in her coat pockets, she got out her address book, found Hinata's phone number, and dialed.

There were four rings before someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Neji?"

"No."

"Um... Who is this?"

"Who's _this_?"

Sakura realized it was a child speaking, and said, very kindly, "This is Neji's friend, Sakura, from school, may I please speak to him?"

"Neji-nii-san is busy, he can't talk to his _girlfriend_," the little girl said loudly.

"No I'm not, and I don't have a girlfriend!" shouted a voice on the other line. There was some stomping, a few minutes of what seemed like running, then the little girl said "eep!" before there was a loud crash. "Hiashi-sama told you to just give me my calls, Hanabi!" shouted the angrily voice before it softened and said, sounding out of breath, "Hello, who's this?"

"Neji?"

"...Yeah?"

"This is Sakura. Shizuka stayed after for school and–"

"So?" he cut her off.

Sakura was slightly startled by the coldness of his voice. "Um... and she didn't come home, and Ukon and the others are looking for her and–"

"She's with that guy," Neji said bluntly.

"What guy?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno, that guy who needs to die. The one with the obnoxious shirts."

"Itachi?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I saw them leaving school, talking about a date, now if you'll excuse me–"

"Aren't you going to help us find her?" Sakura interrupted before he could hang up.

There was a long silence.

"Why would I do that?" he said finally.

"Well, because she's your friend, and that guy doesn't really seem all that safe..."

"Seemed safe enough when she got in the car with him," Neji said coldly.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "She got in a car with him?!"

"I'm sure that Sakkon and Ukon and whatever-their-names can find her fine all by themselves, Sakura."

"Oh, come on, Neji, be a nice guy and help us look for her, ok?" Sakura protested, getting a little impatient now. "If something happened to her, how would you feel?"

"I _am_ a nice guy, Sakura, but _she_ is a _mean_ girl, alright?" he snapped. "She's a _bitch_! You guys can just go find her yourself!"

Sakura was quiet for a few minutes. "You _do_ like her, don't you, Neji?" she asked finally.

"No, I don't!" he shouted. "Stop asking me that! I don't like her! She doesn't like _me_! Just leave me alone!"

Click.

Sakura sighed, hanging up her end, as well. _I know he likes her,_ she thought sadly, going to sit on the coach and wait for Ukon. _It must have _killed_ him to see her go on a date with Itachi..._

The doorbell chimed, and Sakura jumped up to get it, her hand in her pocket, fingering the First Aid kit.

Ukon gave her a weak smile, leaning against the doorframe. "Sakura..."

Her jaw dropped. "Ukon, you're _bleeding_!" she cried.

He looked down at himself; there were fresh bruises on his face and arms, accompanied this time by a long, thin cut across his chest, as well as cuts across his shoulder, his lower left arm, his rib cage, and his cheek. Blood stained the short-sleeved white shirt that was worn under the boys' school uniform and there was blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, as well as from his temple. "Eh..." He gave her a wincing smile. "Got any band aids?"

"Come in right now!" she ordered, pulling him gently into the living room and putting him on the couch. "We're not going to look for Shizuka until you get wrapped up!"

Ukon sat down on the couch carefully, wincing twice, while Sakura got the kit out of her pocket and sat down next to him. "You came prepared?" He pointed to the First Aid kit as she opened it and got out a roll of bandages.

"You sounded really bad on the phone," she pointed out, unrolling a few inches of the bandages and lifting his arm. "Hold still, ok?"

"You _did..._ take some kind of First Aid class in middle school, didn't you?" He raised an eyebrow, doubting her skill.

"Yes, I did." She glared. "If you're well enough to crack jokes, though, you can bandage your own self."

"No... That's ok..." He leaned back against the couch, careful not to bleed on it. "I usually have to do this myself, and I do a crappy job, so this is an improvement."

Sakura gave him a small smile, wrapping the bandages around the cut on his lower arm. She stopped, however, when she reached his wrist. "Ukon... What're these?" She raised his arm to show him the small, thin cuts appearing here and there across the pale skin of his wrist.

"Those are old ones he gave me, when I was little," he answered quickly, looking uncomfortable.

Her jaw dropped. "How long _has_ this been going on?!"

"Hey," he said, suddenly rough, "didn't I tell you not to think about that? Just keep out of it and mind your own business!"

"Maybe if you stopped to think for a second or two, you'd realize I was worried about you!" she countered.

"I didn't ask you to be worried about me, you just keep asking stupid questions that aren't any of your business!" he snapped. "Maybe the reason your precious Sasuke doesn't talk to you is because he doesn't like answering your stupid questions!"

Sakura froze, her eyes fixated on Ukon's arm, her hands stopping in the process of bandaging it.

Ukon chewed on his tongue; he'd regretting saying that as soon as it had entered his mind, but it just slipped out. "I'm...I'm sorry, Sakura, I shouldn't have... Um..." He looked around helplessly. "Do you want me to finish bandaging?"

She shook her head, recovering quickly. "No, that's fine," she said cheerfully, as if it hadn't happened. "Don't worry about it, I had a lot of practice bandaging Naruto last year when he got in trouble and didn't want to go to the nurse. See? I'm already done. Here, use these band-aids to fix up that cut on your face, ok?" She gave him a box of band-aids. "And you need to take off your shirt so I can fix the ones on your shoulder and stuff."

Ukon took the band-aids, sighing inwardly. Not only was her mindless chatter giving him a migraine, but he also knew she was trying to make it seem like he hadn't said what he said, and that she was trying to make him feel better, even though it should be the other way around. "Sakura–"

"Come on, off with it," she said, pulling at the buttons on his shirt unblushingly. "Unless you want me to take it off, myself."

"Sakura..." He sighed, giving up for the time being, and unbuttoned his shirt, taking it off and laying it carefully on the arm of the sofa. While she began bandaging the cut across his chest, he took a few band-aids out of the box (he didn't dare comment on the fact that they were sparkly) and fixed the cut on his face.

They worked in silence until all the cuts were bandaged and the bleeding had stopped. Sakura found one of her big, white T-shirts that she normally slept in, and gave it to him to wear so that he wouldn't have to wear the ripped one. The T-shirt reached Sakura's elbows at the sleeves, and went to her mid-thigh, but when Ukon put it on, the sleeves reached halfway down his (well-toned) biceps, and barely made it past his hips.

He raised an eyebrow, looking down at himself. "You _sleep_ in this thing?"

"Mm-hmm. It's my favorite one besides my Eeyore one." Sakura stepped back to examine him; it was true that the red hues of the school uniform clashed horribly with his lavender hair (I checked... It really does...), but with her white shirt to separate his hair from the red pants, he actually looked kind of... cool...

"Then I guess I shouldn't be complaining, if the other choice is Eeyore," Ukon mused, tugging at the shirt in an attempt to get it to go lower.

"Come on, though, we wasted an hour just getting you fixed up," Sakura said, getting her coat.

"Oh, yeah..." He quit tugging on the shirt and picked up the keys he'd dropped on the coffee table. "Come on, my car's outside."

"...You have a _car_?" Sakura repeated, following him to the door.

"How'd you think I got here?" Ukon opened the door and stepped out, walking over to the Aztec red Nisan Frontier parked in the driveway. "Get in," he ordered, opening the drivers' side and getting in himself.

Huffing at his lack of door-opening, Sakura opened the door on the passenger side and heaved herself in. As he backed the car out of the driveway, Sakura stole a glance at his left wrist again.

Some of the "old scars" looked strangely fresh.

**(Meanwhile)**

Shizuka laughed, stumbling out of the restaurant she and Itachi had been sitting and talking in for the past three hours, causing all mayhem and pandemonium as was natural when one gives someone like Shizuka a little to drink.

"You... are _crazy_," she told him between gasps of breath as he stumbling out after her, swaying slightly.

"I try," he said with a shrug, grinning; for some reason, she found this answer to be absolutely hilarious, and instantly cracked up laughing again. Whether it was the alcohol that was making her laugh like an idiot, or the fact that he really had been acting in there, she couldn't tell. But, to be perfectly honest, she didn't care; it was still funny to her.

"Where're we going now?" she asked, hopping up into the car.

He shrugged. "Wherever you want to go, love. I don't really have a preference." Closing the door behind her, he crossed over to the driver's side and got in himself. "So? Where does your little heart desire to go?" he asked, putting the keys in the ignition (oh, god that's so OOC!).

"Actually..." Shizuka felt her stomach, wincing. "I feel a little sick... Can you take me home?" It was true, she did feel a little nauseous, but that was just the alcohol.

He shrugged again. "Only fair, I guess. You did stay out for a whole dinner date, didn't you?"

"That was _not_ a date!" she snapped, forgetting for the time being fact that she was feeling sick. "That was me giving you what you want so you'd shut up!"

Itachi just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..." He lowered his voice slightly. "Normally, I don't move this fast with girls," he told her softly. "I usually wait a while, and let them chase after me..."

Shizuka felt her cheeks grow hot as he suddenly put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her across the seat, closer to him.

"But with you," he continued in that same, low voice. "I couldn't help it... It was like I already–"

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGG!

Shizuka jumped halfway out of her skin when her cell phone suddenly started vibrating in her pocket. _Dammit, that was almost 'a moment,'_ she thought angrily, getting the annoying device out. "Yeah, what do you want?!"

"_ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKIN' MIND?! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED EVERYONE IS ABOUT YOU?! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, SHIZUKA-SAMA?!_"

Shizuka faltered, holding the phone at arms length, she and Itachi both starring at it like it was a viper. "S-Sakkon?" she called towards it.

"_YOU TELL THAT ASSHOLE TO BRING YOU HOME RIGHT NOW, OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND CHAIN YOU TO MY WRIST FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, GOT IT?!_"

Click.

Shizuka and Itachi continued to stare at the phone.

"....Was that the necklace kid?" Itachi asked finally.

"Yep." Shizuka pocketed the phone.

"Was he serious?"

"Yep. I think you should take me home now."

**(Later-but-slightly-meanwhile)**

"Where would she go?" Sakura asked, looking out the window for any signs of her friend (like she'd just pop right up?).

"Probably either to a bar or a club," Ukon answered, looking out his window while keeping an eye on the road.

"A bar or club?!"

"Headache," he reminded her; she'd given him some aspirin, but it had yet to take affect.

"Sorry, but... clubs and bars?" Shizuka hadn't really struck Sakura as the 'party girl' type... A little crazy, and wild on the weird side, but not a party girl.

"Yeah. She and Kidoumaru and Tayuya 'discovered' clubs and bars last year." Ukon made quotations with his fingers. "And they like to go to a few whenever Orochimaru-sama is on business trips. All the bartenders know them now, so Tayuya and Kidou are going to check the bars out. Jiroubou and Sakkon are check the clubs."

"Do they ever, like, drink and stuff?"

"Eh, we've all been drunk at least once." He shrugged. "I, personally, have a weak spot for sake. Orochimaru-sama's been letting me drink it with meals, now that I'm eighteen, but I haven't really gotten smashed recently."

"You drink a lot?" _These people have too many secrets!_

"Nah, just one bottle for dinner," he said with a shrug. "Then I just have water. Not enough to get me drunk." He gave her a sideways look. "I'm not an alcoholic, you know."

Sakura shrugged, blushing the lightest of pinks. "I wasn't saying you were..."

He shrugged, as well. "I'm just letting you now," he said, getting a CD out of the glove compartment and putting it in the CD player.

"Coal Chamber?" Sakura read off the CD case, where he had written down all the song names (it was a burned CD), taking it put of the glove compartment.

"Hell, yeah. I love this song." Ukon grinned as a buzzing guitar solo began, nodding his head in time to the drum beats. Then, quite abruptly, the music picked up into a dirty drum-and-guitar session, and he started head-banging, his long, lavender hair flying everywhere; he certainly seemed to be enjoying himself, and Sakura giggled a little, watching him. "Come on, try it," he said, stopping for a second or two when the music briefly slowed down. Putting a hand on the back of her head, he gently made her head head-bang, as well (how do you gently make someone head-bang?).

Sakura grinned, getting the hang of it as they stopped at a red light. After about three minutes (actually, it was more like four minutes and fourteen seconds, but...), the song ended and they stopped head-banging, grinning hugely. "That was awesome!" she cried, laughing.

He gave her a grin, crossing the intersection.

"But... my head hurts." She put a hand over her forehead.

"How do you think I feel? I already had a headache to begin with." He grinned anyway. "Don't worry, it's just your brain banging against your skull. Nothing serious." His grin widened when another song came on. "Oh, damn, Godsmack, I love these guys, Come on," he ordered, making her head-bang again.

**(Slightly later...)**

(I'm running out of time-change sentences, ok?!)

Shizuka groaned, rubbing her head as Itachi neared the gate leading to her house. "God, I have a headache... and now I'm gonna get bitched at, too..."

"If you get pissed, you can come over my place, ne?" He tossed her a smirk, pulling up to the gate.

"Hmph, yeah, right." She sighed, looking out the front window of the car. A trace of ear crawled down her spine. "Oh, shit."

Neji scowled, pushing himself off from where he was leaning against the gates, looking ready to kill.

* * *

Yay! Chappie done! Ok, let's see.... I'll get to the review answers in a sec, but first... Important information for this chapter.

**THE CARS!**

Itachi's car: Black Cadillac Escalade EX, 2003, leather interior (Pictures available on Google)

Ukon's car: Nissan Frontier King Cab Desert Runner XE-V6 w/VIP, Aztec Red (Pictures also available on Google)

(As you can see, SNG loves big cars!)

**THE SONGS:**

Inspirational songs:

(Ukon&Sakura's scene:)

Ukon's P.O.V.: Godsmack: 'Serenity,' 'Release The Demons,' 'Keep Away'

Green Day, 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'

Rammstein, 'Sonne'

Sakura's P.O.V.: Dot Hack Sign Theme, 'Lost' (at least, I think that's what it's called)

(Ukon's Car music)

Coal Chamber, 'Loco'

Godsmack, 'I Fuckin Hate You'

Ok, I think that's it. Lol, lots of songs this time! Thank god I didn't make it into a song chapter... I highly doubt this fic will be getting any song chapters, but oh well. That doesn't mean I can't be inspired by songs, right??? All lyrics for these songs (except the dot hack sign one) are available at A-Z lyrics dot com!

Ok, now for review answers...

**Kie-san:** lol, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Sakkon and Ukon have that freaky twin-thing going on, where they love each other to bits (in a brotherly way, dammit!) But can still be evil enough to pick at one another. You can tell they really do care about each other. Ukon's such a nice big brother! I shouldn't really have to _reassure_ you that she's considering Ukon's possibilities if you read this chapter, now, do I?

**Dragonman180:** Lol I was listening to that song with my mom in the car the other day and I had this really disturbing mental picture of Sakkon and Ukon singing it, and I was like "I HAVE TO PUT IT IN!!!" so I did. The locker thing.... Yeah, he'll probably just randomly appear whenever she needs help. And if he doesn't, yeah, she'd probably bash Neji's head against it till it opened. (Such a kind, caring little girl, ne?)

**Mika:** Sigh... Ok, I resigned myself to the fact that you really won't stop complimenting me, so... thankies!! :)

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin:** SUN CHIPS ARE GOD!!! Anyway... You're going to do a high school fic, too? Lemme know when it comes out, ne? I love high school fics! I like the NejiShizuka pairing, too... Or, is it ShizukaNeji? Hm...

**xl-twisted-lx:** Yay! Trophy! Ty!!! (Hopefully this chappie was just as good)

**HinatasBiggestFanboy:** Neji's not stupid! (Hits u across the head) Kyuubi: Don't insult him... it could be deadly. SNG: He's just a little dense. Lol you ended every sentence with an lol or rofl. I feel special!

**SilentAdaon: **Ok hm... The bit with Neji dreaming about Sakura was kind of weird. You have to think about how dreams are basically made, to understand; normally, you just dream about what you were thinking about before you went to sleep, and knowing Neji, he was probably either thinking about soccer, food, or the fact that Sakura harasses him about Shizuka all the time. It's not a pairing thing... Neji-Sakura pairings bug me a bit. Lol, but ty for the review! Hope you enjoyed this chap, too!


	6. Das Einsame und das Vaterlose

**Crimson Love

* * *

**

I have a new band to add to my favorites! Rammstein! They're so awesome! I have no idea what they're saying, but they're awesome! All the lyrics are in German, or Russian or whatever, and they're like, the death metal band of Europe, or something. I got an AMV for their song 'Sonne' for Haku, and it was called 'Haku, the Greatest Tool' or something like that, and it sounded so cool!

Anyway, now I'm on a German kick, so the title of this chapter is in German, but it kind of fits. You'll see why. At the moment, I'm downloading a song for Gaara for Rammstein's song, 'Mein Herz Brennt.' Should be good; it's taking a short forever.

(Jumps on comp and bites it) WHY WON'T YOU HURRY UP!

Oh... ok, it's done.

(Watches) 0.0

THAT WAS AWESOME!

Ok, anyway, back to my duties as a writer. Even though I send out pictures to those who request them, some are rather unclear about Shizuka's exact hair length, mainly because the pictures are all either centered around her eyes or face. So let me clarify... Shizuka's hair is about six inches past her waist. So if you would stand up right now and put your hand about six inches past your waist (now your butt, your waist, idiot), that's how long her hair is. Pretty scary, ne? Thought so.

You know what I hate and yet am seeing on a regular basis nowadays? Neji-Lee pairings. GAH! Ok, first of all: Neji is so not gay. Why? He's just not. And Lee is so not gay, too. Yes, he wears spandex, but be serious: surfers wear spandex, too! Plus he's so in love with Sakura, it's not even funny.

Actually... let me clarify: I hate Neji yaoi. I like cute little Neji shonen-ai, like what H-R has in _Suna's Kekkai Genkai, _but when people make yaoi for him, it annoys me. Yaoi for Sasuke isn't as weird... No one's really sure about his sexuality. I mean, seriously, if you were in his shoes, as a guy with every girl in the class after you, wouldn't you at least skip a little? I know I probably would. But that's just because I like attention. Doesn't matter who gives it to me, so long as I get it.

I guess I'm kinda like Naruto, ne?

Oh, yeah, to those interested, I'm having my step-dad scan a fan art I did for this ficcie! FLUFFY UKON/SAKURA PICS ROCK!

But that doesn't mean Sasuke's out of the picture, ne?

So anyway, lemme know if you want it, and if you do, sign in with your e-mail, ok, so I don't have to go searchin'.

(Note continued at the end)

* * *

**Chapter Six: Das Einsame und das Vaterlose

* * *

**

Shizuka actually gulped as Neji went over to the car door and rapped his knuckles on the glass. He looked murder.

However, being Shizuka, she had to roll down the window. "Um... Hi, Neji."

"Can I talk to you?" he asked in a low, deadly calm voice. "Alone," he added, his pale eyes flicking over Itachi with a look of disgust.

Shizuka gulped again; in no way, shape or form was she going to be getting out of the car when he had that deadly look in his eye. "Um... You know what, I'm good."

"Get out of the car, please, Shizuka," he ordered, his voice getting colder by the minute.

"I don't think she wants to, little man-thing," Itachi called jeeringly, rolled up her window with the button on his side of the car. "Buh-bye."

Neji scowled, whatever was left of his cool exterior now evaporated as he turned on his heel and went back to the gate, looking at the ground like he'd dropped something.

"Is he pissed?" Itachi asked, grinning slightly.

"I dunno, I guess." Shizuka shrugged nervously; she didn't know him well enough to know when he was pissed. She glanced back at Neji when he turned around; her eyes widened: in his hand was a rock the size of his fist. "Oh shit."

Itachi, still smirking slightly, looked up, as well in time to see Neji storm back over to the passenger's side and smash the window with the rock. Broken glass fell everywhere, in Shizuka's lap, in the floor of the car, on the ground, and even a little over Itachi, whose eyes had gotten unnaturally wide in the last five milliseconds.

Reaching into the car with his free hand, Neji unlocked the door and yanked it open, glaring at her as he pulled her out of the car. "We need to talk," he said coldly, dragging her towards the gates.

Regaining his ability to move, Itachi opened the car door and charged over to the black haired Hyuuga, grabbing him by the front of his dark red hoodie. "What the fuck is your problem, asshole!" he shouted, veins popping in his forehead. "You just broke my fuckin' window!"

Neji looked down at the hand on his hoodie with a testy look, then glared up at Itachi. "Back off."

"Don't fuckin' tell me to back off, asshole, you just broke my damn window!" Itachi growled, drawing back a fist. Shizuka's eyes widened as the fist connected with the side of Neji's face, throwing his head to one side. His head was the only part of him that moved, however, as the rest of Neji's body remained rigid, his grip on Shizuka's wrist unloosened.

Neji turned back to Itachi, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Back off," he growled in a more menacing tone.

"Come on, guys, stop it," Shizuka urged nervously, still in Neji's grip.

"Yeah, I will," Itachi growled, "just as soon as this bastard agrees to–"

"I'm sorry," Neji interrupted in a low voice, his eyes shadowed by his dark hair, which wasn't tied back with his bandana, thus letting it go wild. "What did you call me?"

"Hm?" Itachi faltered, then sneered, "I called you a fuckin' bastard!"

At the repetition of these words, something in Neji snapped.

**(Meanwhile)**

"But you don't know if they're saying bad stuff," Sakura protested.

"How do _you _know I don't know?" Ukon countered, smirking, slowing down to meet a red light. "I might really be able to speak German. Besides, it's metal music: they all have something bad to say."

"Come on, though, seriously," Sakura said, looking for the 'CD Eject' button.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ukon batted her hand away. "No touchie the doo-hickies!"

"The... What?" She stopped to stare at him. "Doo-hickies?"

"Yeah, doo-hickies." Satisfied that his CD player was safe for the moment, Ukon went back to glaring at the red light.

"...What the heck's a doo-hickie? Isn't that something on your neck?"

He grinned, laughing a little. "No, that's a hickie. It comes from sucking on skin so the blood vessels break. No, a doo-hickie is the name we give stuff when we can't think of the actual name off the top of our head in time to say it." He grimaced slightly. "Hickies are painful."

"How would _you _know?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

He gave her a look. "How do you _think_ I know?"

Sakura blushed and quickly looked out the window. She'd never gotten a hickie, and it had never occurred to her that he would have, but it made sense, since he was older then her, thus having been on the planet longer then her, giving him more experience in hickies and that kind of thing. _Plus,_ she thought to herself, watching the white lines on the street flick past as they drove down said street, _if you look past the fact that he's so moody, he's not so bad... _She stole a glance at him where he was singing along quietly to the lyrics of 'Sonne' by Rammstein. _...He's really cool, and nice, and h-hot...?_ Sakura's eyes popped open. 'Hot' was definitely _not_ one of the words that described Ukon!

Ukon, seeing the look on her face, asked, "What? Have I got something on my face?"

She shook her head quickly, looking out the front window. Sakura tried her hardest not to be angry at Shizuka for staying out at all hours, thus getting Ukon in trouble. After all, Shizuka probably didn't even know she was getting him in trouble. But still... Sakura hated seeing that look in his eyes when he was hurt...

There was a few long, silent moments before he spoke again. "Um... Sakura?"

"Yeah?" Sakura jerked herself out of her thoughts.

"...What's your mom like?"

Sakura faltered slightly. "My mom?"

He nodded, starring at the road as if only it existed.

"Um... I dunno, what do you want to know?"

He shrugged. "What's she look like? Is she pretty? Does she have a job? How old is she? That kind of thing." (Stalk much?)

"Oh... um..." Sakura thought for a moment; she'd never really ever thought about her mom before. "Well... she's retaking a college course in medicine now, and she's 34..."

"She was pretty young when she had you, ne?"

Sakura blushed slightly. "I... never thought about it."

"Aa."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was starring at the road with a look like he was determined not to look at her. Weird. "Um... what about your mom?"

"Heh?" He glanced at her, then quickly looked away. "I don't remember a thing about her."

Sakura starred at him. _No... that's not right..._

**Flashback**

"_Besides..." Ukon looked away. "I'm the older twin, and I promised her I would take care of him."_

I was right, they _are _twins._ "You promised who?"_

"_My ...mother... before she died..."_

**End flashback**

"What's your mom look like?" Ukon asked, dragging her out of her thoughts again.

Sakura was a little confused about the sudden change of subject. "Um... She looks like me a little so I don't know if she's pretty..."

"Does she have green eyes like you?"

Sakura nodded, thinking of how she had been so proud as a child that she and her mom had the same color eyes.

"Then she probably is pretty," he said casually, turning down a street as his pager beeped. Ignoring Sakura's blush at the slightly obvious compliment, he sighed hugely and took the device off his belt and looked at it. "Orochimaru-sama wants us all to come home now. He probably found her." Replacing the pager, he turned and asked, "Do you want me to take you home first, or...?"

"No, that's fine, I don't want you to get in trouble for being late or anything," she said casually. "Plus, I want to yell at her." She smirked, cracking her knuckles.

Ukon gave her a wary look out of the corner of his eye as he turned down another street that would take them to the manor.

**(Meanwhile)**

Shizuka's jaw dropped as Itachi was suddenly knocked over with a foot in his gut.

"Say that again," Neji growled down at him. "I fuckin' dare you."

He was about to make another move, but faltered when Shizuka ran over to Itachi and helped him to a sitting position. After making sure he was semi-alright, she turned on Neji. "What is your problem!"

"_My_ problem!" he cried. "He's the one being a total shit-face!"

"You didn't have to kick him! You could have actually hurt him!"

"That was the idea!" He started to say something else, but was cut off when a car's headlights flashed over his eyes, making him see black spots.

"Holy shit, dude!" Sakkon cried, getting out of the car. (SNG: I ran out of ideas and inspiration for that, ok? Get off my back) Ignoring Itachi on the ground, he and Jiroubou ran over to Shizuka, not bothering to turn off the headlights (which was good, because they were about all that was keeping Neji sated, him being temporarily blinded by them and all). "Shizuka-sama, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but–"

"GOOD! CUZ I'M GONNA KILL YA!" Sakkon half-shrieked, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her towards the gates.

"Stop it, you fucker!" she snapped, digging her heels into the ground in an attempt to stop him. "Itachi is–"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," Itachi cut her off, rubbing his gut where Neji had kicked him. "God dammit..."

"Fuck off if you know what's good for you, Uchiha," Sakkon growled, reaching in his jacket and pulling out a hand gun.

Itachi smirked, also reaching in his jacket, then stopped and groaned. "Damn, that's the last time I come on a date unarmed."

**(Meanwhile... In Ukon's car...)**

"Ukon, be gentle, please!"

"Call me Ukon-sama, bitch!"

**(Just kidding)**

"Oh my god, what's going on?" Sakura cried as Ukon pulled into the street before the gates.

"Shit." Ukon grimaced, seeing the gun in Sakkon's hand, and Itachi on the ground. "Stay here, Sakura," he ordered, putting it in park and getting out. "I'll be right back."

"Huh? But–"

"_I'll be right back_," he repeated firmly, closing the door and flicking the auto-lock on. "Sakkon, what the hell's going on?" he snapped, crossing the street to where his brother was standing.

"Uchiha's here, that's what's going on," Sakkon said coldly.

Ukon glanced at Itachi, then turned back to his brother. "Gimme the gun, Sakkon," he ordered, holding his hand out.

"Fuck no!"

"Sakkon," Ukon repeated in a low, commanding voice. "Give me the gun. And go turn your head lights off."

Sakkon glanced over at his car, then scowled and dropped the gun in Ukon's outstretched hand. "Fine," he muttered, going back over to his car and opening the door. He stole a glance at Sakura, glaring at her as she backed away into the seat in the car behind his. Turning off his headlights, Sakkon turned back to his twin. "Shoot him, Ukon."

Ukon gave him a look, then glared at Itachi again. Sakura's eyes widened as Ukon lifted his arm holding the gun so it was pointed directly at Itachi. _Oh my god!_

Shizuka's eyes widened, as well. "Don't shoot him, Ukon!"

"Shoot him, Ukon," Sakkon repeated, smirking. "You know what Orochimaru-sama said."

Shizuka starred. "What'd Daddy say?"

Ukon glared at Sakkon. "Shut up, Sakkon. I know what he said."

There was a long silence (Neji hasn't said anything in a while), during which Ukon glared at Itachi, and Itachi glared back, and Shizuka starred at them both, and Sakkon waited impatiently. Sakura's eyes widened when Ukon's finger tightened on the trigger.

"Ukon!"

A shot rang out. For a split second, everything was still. No one spoke; everyone was in shock.

Itachi winced, holding his shoulder where the bullet had grazed his arm. "Shit!"

"Screw off, Uchiha, before I get Medieval on your ass," Ukon ordered, lowering the arm holding the gun. "Next time you show your sorry ass around here, you'll be fuckin' sorry, got it?"

Itachi tossed him a scowl, seemingly "forgetting" that Ukon hadn't actually shot him, and got to his feet, stalking over to his car. Shizuka started to follow, but was pulled to a stop by Sakkon, who gave her a glare before dragging her over to the gates.

"I'll take care of this one," he told Ukon before turning to the little speaker-thingie.

Ukon shrugged, going over to his own car and unlocking it. He gave Sakura a small smirk. "Good girl, you stayed in the car like I said."

"You were going to _shoot_ him!" she cried in disbelief as he opened her door.

"No, I wasn't," Ukon corrected, stepping back so she could get out of the car. "I never shoot anyone. I just give 'em a scratch and tell 'em to get lost."

"What if you _miss_!" she snapped, hopping down and closing the car door.

"I never miss."

"No one's perfect!" Sakura reminded him, a little skittish, owing to the fact that he hadn't yet put down the gun.

"I didn't say _I_ was, I just said my aim was," he said calmly.

"You had a gun in class today, too, didn't you!"

"...And?"

"You're not supposed to have guns in school!"

"So?"

"You could get expelled!"

"But I won't, because I'm not telling anyone I have a gun on me 24/7, and _you're _not telling anyone I have a gun on me 24/7, either, are you?" He gave her a pointed look.

"Maybe I _will_!"

"Maybe I'll shoot you."

"And if I die, what then!"

"Then I will have rid myself of the cause of many head aches," he said simply, following Sakkon and Shizuka (and Jiroubou and Neji... They don't talk much, do they?) through the gates.

Sakura turned red and looked away angrily. (**Cause of head aches!**)

Shizuka's father was waiting for them when they got in the door. Sakura couldn't help but give his back a glare as she knelt down to take her shoes off after the normal frisking.

"Shizuka-kun, where were you!" Orochimaru asked in a would-be scolding voice. (SNG suddenly has funny mental picture of chibi Orochi wagging his finger at Shizuka)

Sakkon, Ukon and Shizuka all looked at each other. Neji, seeing the look, answered, "She was at my house studying."

Sakura and turned to look at him while the others all nodded readily, seemingly liking this lie better then the truth. _Neji...?_

Orochimaru seemed to find this acceptable, and probably would have nagged on her for not calling, but Shizuka tossed her shoes to the side and said, "We're going to my room to hang out, ok? Don't bug us."

Sakura's eyebrows sky-rocketed when this order actually worked, and Orochimaru went down the hall without any questions. _Damn... she's got the jerk of the century wrapped around her little finger _(H-R: and tucked in her back pocket)

Shizuka's room seemed to be on the other side of the huge house (A/N: This is a traditional Japanese manor, sort of like the Hyuuga house in the anime, so all the rooms are on a first-floor basis); it took then a good ten minutes to get to it. The sliding door had several signs nailed to the wooden supports (A/N: See a picture of traditional rice-paper sliding doors), including, but not limited to, a "KEEP OUT" sign, a STOP sign, and a "NO SOLICITORS" sign. When Shizuka opened said door, Sakura saw that the walls inside had had plywood nailed to them, covering the rice paper so no one could see the shadows of the happenings inside. It was a pretty big room, about the size of Sakura's living room.

In one corner was a queen-size bed with a havoc of red blankets, black sheets and pillows. Above the headboard, there were hundred upon thousands of pictures pinned to the plywood. Against the wall parallel to the bed there was a 48" TV with a video game set in front of it; Kimimaro was sitting in front of it, playing _Naruto 2_ (H-R's idea. It looks oddly familiar to them), and didn't seem to notice when they came in, even though it wasn't his room. In the corner near the TV was a large, leather Lay-Z-Boy chair with a stack of manga next to it. On the wall above the TV were several posters and magazine clippings. Next to the door to the room was another door, leading to a bath room. Next to that door was a walk-in closet. It wasn't an overly-furnished room; it was just big.

Sakkon quickly claimed the chair, pulling out the foot-rest and picking up one of the manga. Ukon sat down next to Kimimaro, who handed him a controller and restarted the game for two people. Shizuka went to sit against the bed on the floor so she could watch them play. Neji just sat on the floor looking grumpy. Sakura went to sit on the bed to satisfy her fetish with looking at pictures.

The pictures were actually pretty cute, despite the total un-cute nature of the person who occupied the room. (Actually, I've had people say that Shizuka has a very cute little personality that is easy to get attached to... I have to disagree, since she's like me, but oh well) The pictures nearest the head board, obviously the first ones put up, showed Shizuka and Kimimaro... but a much younger Kimimaro and Shizuka; they couldn't have been more then three or four. They were sitting in a muddle of mud, covered from head to toe in said mud, looking over their shoulders at the camera with total innocence. In fact, nearly every single picture that had Shizuka, had Kimimaro in it, as well. Sakura had only seen the two talk once or twice, but it just seemed natural for Kimimaro to be around Shizuka; he was just always there.

Sakura scanned the other pictures towards the bottom; they were all of Kimimaro and Shizuka as children, with the occasional Tayuya, Kidoumaru or Jiroubou. She glanced towards the top and gasped loudly, jumping up on the bed to get a better look at the picture that had gotten her attention.

Everyone turned to look at her. "What?" Shizuka asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sakura ignored her, starring at the picture in question. It showed two little kids, around the ages of two or three, both with short, spiky, lavender hair, both with big, black-blue eyes, both with huge grins, and both with their arms around the other, mushing their faces together.

"Who is this?" she asked, pointing at the picture.

They looked.

"Oh god, no." Ukon groaned.

Well, that answered _that_ question.

"Ha ha, I forgot that was up there!" Sakkon said amiably before going back to his manga.

"I forget _why_ it's still up there," Ukon grumbled.

"Aw, but it's so cute!" Sakura cried, suddenly glomping him with speed perfected from many years of trying to glomp the swift-on-his-feet Sasuke.

"Meh, I'm tryin' to play here, woman!" he cried, trying to free his arms from her glomp so he could operate the controller.

Shizuka smirked slightly, watching the two bicker. _In-ter-esting..._

"Oh, crap, what time is it?" Sakura asked suddenly, letting go of Ukon to look around for a wall clock or some sort of time mechanism.

"Around ten," Sakkon answered, looking at his watch.

"Crap, crap, crap!" Sakura cried, going into traditional freak-out mode. "I have to call my mom!"

Ukon snorted at this, but handed her his cell phone, not taking his eyes off the TV. "You're number's on speed-dial on 8."

"...You have her on speed-dial?" Sakkon asked, looking up from his manga with a raised eyebrow, making Sakura blush. "You don't even have _me_ on speed dial!"

"You don't know your number well enough to tell it to me so I can _put_ you on speed-dial!"

"You never asked!"

"Because I know you don't know it!"

"Can we not do this now!" Shizuka snapped, breaking up the little quarrel the twins were having.

"...Fine," they said together, Ukon going back to his game and Sakkon to his manga.

Sakura rolled her eyes at their immaturity, pressing the speed-dial and the 8-button. She waited while the other line rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi, mom–"

"Where are you, young lady!"

"I left you a note!" Sakura cried in her defense. ("Looks like I'm not the only one who's in trouble for staying out with boys," Shizuka said to Kimimaro. Ukon glared at her.)

"That note expired an hour and a half ago, young lady!"

"Ask her if you can spend the night," Shizuka ordered, having heard Sakura's mom's shrieking.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at her, then grinned and was about to ask her mother, when said mother asked, "Where are you, exactly!"

"Um... I'm over Shizuka's house..."

"Why are you over a boy's house!"

"Um... Shizuka's a girl mom," Sakura said amoungst Ukon and Sakkon's snorts of laughter.

"Then why is there a boy's jacket on the sofa!"

Ukon and Sakura looked at each other. "Shit," he said under his breath. He'd left his jacket on her coach when she was bandaging him.

"It's Ino's," Sakura answered, thinking of a lie nice and quick. "She left it over there."

"Why's it all ripped up?"

"Because Ino's really clumsy," Sakura answered, glad no one but her could hear the "ripped up" part. "Anyway, since it's so late, can I just stay over for the night?"

This, obviously, brought on more shouting.

"I want to speak to this Shizuka's parents!"

"Er–" Sakura gave them all a look.

Kimimaro rolled his eyes and held out his hand for the phone. Sakura was slightly optimistic but, remembering how unnaturally deep his voice was, and how it could probably sound like an adult's, she gave him the phone.

"Hello, this is Shizuka's father," Kimimaro said in his deep voice, causing Sakkon to have to clap his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. "...Well, yes, there are a few boys... No, they're too lame to rape your daughter... Heavens, no! What kind of household do you think I run? ...She and Shizuka are about the same size, she can borrow some of hers... Alright, then. Good bye." He hung up and gave the phone to Ukon.

"'Too lame to rape her'!" the twins shouted together. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think?" Kimimaro asked in his monotone. Turning to Sakura, he said, "Your mom wants you to come home before school tomorrow so you can get a clean uniform. We'll leave at six a.m., so don't stay up talking," before leaving.

Sakura sighed, slumping a little. "She's going to yell at me again..."

"Tell her to mind her own business!"

"What works for you doesn't work for everyone, Shizuka-sama," Ukon pointed out, his thumbs going crazy over the controller. "Just nod and agree, Sakura. She'll shut up after a while."

"Fuck you, Ukon, that never works and you know it!" Shizuka cried, bopping him across the head.

Sakura felt a chill go down her spine when Ukon flinched just before Shizuka's hand made contact with his head, but she didn't say anything; he'd only glare at her.

Neji suddenly stood up from where he had been sitting, quite silent, on the floor. "I'm going home," he told them bluntly before going to the door and stepping out, closing it behind him.

"Um, ok?" was all Shizuka had to say.

"Dude, you owe him big-time, Shizuka-sama," Ukon said in a rebuking tone. "Without him, we'd all be in deep shit."

"Yeah, yeah," Shizuka snapped, glaring. "I'll thank him eventually."

"No, seriously, Shizuka, you should got thank him now, before he goes," Sakura urged.

"He's probably already gone by now," Shizuka said, by way of excuse.

"Nah, it's impossible to get anywhere in this house very fast on your first try." Sakkon waved it off.

"Just go thank him!" Ukon ordered, putting the game on pause and got up, tucking her under one arm, kicking and screaming and shoving her out of the room and slamming the door. "I'm not letting you back in until you do."

She did a bit of shouting, and kicking at the door (which ended very quickly), then did some whining, but Ukon was absolute, so she groaned loudly and stormed down the hall, muttering something along the lines of murder.

_I'm not going because I want to,_ she told herself angrily, shoving her hands in her pockets–but, of course, her school uniform didn't have pockets, so she crossed her arms instead. _I'm going because I need to get back in my room so I can kick Ukon's ass!_

She stopped, raising an eyebrow; Neji was standing in the middle of the hall, looking both annoyed and pissed (isn't that the same thing, though?). His back was to her, though, so he hadn't seen her yet. He was muttering angrily to himself, as well.

"God damn fuckin' house is too damn big and full of shit doors," he grumbled, looking around. "Which fuckin' way is out!"

"Man, your memory sucks," Shizuka said loudly, announcing her presence. He turned to glare at her, but she was unphased. "Don't you remember how we got to my room? This whole house is just one big hallway. If you had some patience and followed it the whole way, you'd get out."

He scowled at her and started down the hall way again.

"So, you're just going to storm off like a two-year-old throwing a fit?" she called after him.

He turned and glared again. "Did you want something?"

She groaned, dropping her arms at her sides. "Look, I'm only going to say this once, so pay attention!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, waiting.

There was a long silence.

"Thanks," she mumbled out of the corner of her mouth.

"For what?" he snapped.

"For telling my dad that I was over your house!" she snapped back.

He starred at her, looking dumbfounded. "...That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

"...That's all?"

"What else have I got to thank you for!" she snapped.

Neji faltered slightly; like I said before, if he were one to fall over anime-style, he would have... several times. Then he starred at her some more. _She... she really doesn't get it!_

**Flashback**

_Shizuka ran over to Itachi and helped him to a sitting position. After making sure he was semi-alright, she turned on Neji. "What is your problem!"_

"_My problem!" he cried. "He's the one being a total shit-face!"_

"_You didn't have to kick him! You could have actually hurt him!"_

**End flashback**

_...Why is that _bothering_ me?_ Neji thought angrily before turning on his heel and going down the hall.

"You know, you shouldn't blow up every time someone insults you," she called after him. "It's totally immature."

Neji stopped; it seemed like he wanted to say something... but he just kept walking.

Shizuka sighed, grumbling loudly as she turned on her heel and went in the opposite direction back to her room. _What was that all about...?_

"Let me in, you fucker!" Shizuka snapped, rapping her knuckles on her door. "I thanked him, so let me in!"

Sakkon opened the door, grinning. "See, now was that so hard?"

"Yes! The boy's a total asshole!" she snapped, shouldering past him. Sakura and Ukon were playing _Naruto 2_, making snide comments at each other the whole time. Apparently, Ukon was kicking Sakura's butt.

After a 15-0 streak favoring Ukon, he decided he was done being king of video games and stood up. "Come on, Sakkon, it's late."

"Aw, but I wanna stay for the girly little sleep over!" Sakkon whined teasingly.

Ukon sweat-dropped. "No, Sakkon."

"Come on, girls," Sakkon said, ignoring his brother. "We can do each others hair and paint our nails and _share our feelings_!" He batted his eyelashes at them mockingly.

Shizuka glared. "Out!" she snapped, pointing at the door.

**(Later that night)**

"He gets so worked up over every damn thing," Shizuka grumbled to Sakura long after the twins had gone to bed (no, they didn't listen to Kimimaro when he said 'don't stay up talking'). "All Itachi did was insult him, and Neji went crazy!"

"What'd Itachi-san call him?" Sakura asked curiously. They two were sharing the bed, since it was so big, and were talking low enough so that only they could hear each other.

"He called him an asshole and a bastard and a whole lot of other colorful little–"

"He called Neji a bastard?" Sakura interrupted.

"Yeah, so?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you what 'bastard' meant?"

"Nope, I just know it's an insult, so I use it." She shrugged.

Sakura sighed. "A bastard is, technically, a fatherless child."

"So why would Neji go bananas over being called that?" Shizuka asked curiously.

"Well... I don't know the details, but..." Sakura sighed. "Hinata told me last year when Neji moved in with them that Neji doesn't exactly have a dad."

"...Eh?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "How can you not exactly have a dad?"

"It's kind of complicated..." She sighed again. "See, when Neji was four or so, his dad just sort of disappeared, and no one knows where he went. There were a lot of search parties and everything, but nothing turned up. I guess it's kind of a soft spot for him."

"Damn," Shizuka said through a yawn. She was feeling pretty damn tired after tonight's 'adventures.' As she slowly drifted off to sleep, she thought absently, _I can't imagine living without my dad for that long... Shit, Neji..._

* * *

Okies, that seemed like a good place to end it.

Teeth: Ping!

You wanna know _true_ aggravation?

True aggravation is when your computer only allows you to download 2 AMV's at a time, and you're downloading 2 Itachi AMV's, but you see 2 Sesshomaru AMV's that you like, and your Itachi AMV's are already halfway finished.

THAT, my friends, is true aggravation.

Ok, so, anyway, I was sitting at my comp the other day at about seven a.m, and I was rereading _Bozenjishitsu_ (I was bored to pieces) and this fic called _Little Green Leaves,_ and unfortunately, my Kankurou fetish has returned somewhat.

Anyway, I was thinkin' about it, and I was like, "Everyone thinks Kan-kun is butt-ugly!" Well you know what, I beg to differ! I got a whole bunch of Kankurou pictures and I took off all the make up and you know what? HIS FACE IS NORMAL! The hair is still a mystery, though... I think he has like, Kiba-style hair, but auburn. (Goes off babbling about Kankurou like she did in her Kankurou fics)

Kyuubi: (bop) Get back to your senses! Whatever's left of them...

T.T I am so unloved.

Ok, let's see... Reviews... HOLY CRAP! DUDE! 51-ISH ALL TOGETHER! (falls off chair) Ok this is gonna take a while so be patient, onegai?

Sigh.

But I love y'all so!

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin:** Lol, I love doing Sakkon-comedy like that. Hardly anyone but me (and about five other people) actually write stuff for the guy, so I try to max him out a bit. Your fic idea sounds cool! I will _so_ read it! NaruHina is like, not even questionable for me: they just have to be together. I like the ShikaTem pairing because... well, just because they're so cute! That's the only pairing I'd do with Shika. As for Shino, go for it! He's cool! BUG PEOPLE 4EVA, YO!

**HinatasBiggestFanBoy:** I can't do that much comedy in drastically serious scenes... it's just not done. Lol. You can tell when I'm being serious about a serious scene when I don't put any comedy. I hope you like these, tho!

**Dragonman180:** If Orochi could ever actually bring himself to ground her, yeah, he probably would. Lol. Hey! I know lots of sophomores who could kick senior asses! (I happen to be one of them, thank very much!) But anyway, sorry there wasn't that much of a fight... I'm not good with doing fight scenes without Jutsu...

**xl-twisted-lx:** Yay! More trophies! (Huggles trophies) The pairings are still a little unclear for everyone but... Oh well, you never know!

**Mika:** I still haven't really decided on how the pairings will end up... I'm totally unclear! Sob! But it'll be nice and fluffy-wuffy... I dunno about sex scenes, but you know what? It's R, why not? Lol. But I get uber sigh putting sex scenes in... It's too early in the fic to be deciding that, tho!

**Lily the best:** Ok I'll try! Ty!

**Kie-san: **FUZZY! Lol. I love doing fuzzy, it's so much more fun then lemons. (Plus lemons make me shy...) They are cute, aren't they? Lol. I AM QUEEN OF LOVE-TRIANGLES, HELL YEAH! I got two triangles goin' and I am damn proud of it! Itachi is bein' kinda weird... It's hard putting a character like that in a high school setting and keeping him in character, tho... Ok, as for the questions: Neji and Hinata both have just really pale eyes (like when they don't have Byakugan). They wouldn't be Hinata and Neji without them! Kakashi... Um... I'm thinking, ok? And Jiraiya has... Yeah, everyone looks the same ok? But no Sharingen (so Kakashi has two normal eyes) and no Byakugan so... I'M CONFUSING MYSELF! DAMMIT! (Bangs head on wall) Oh and, I don't know what any of the album names are for Rammstein or anything, but... Yeah, I recommend the one... hang on, lemme check... The one called 'Mutter' because it has the three songs that I like on it! Dude this is a long response! Oh well, long review, ne?

**Ginka: **Ty! I'm glad you like the little 'thing' they have going! I like it, too! Enjoy and ty!

**Jazzywolf:** Please don't scare me like that and take so long to review... Unless yer comp's bein' a bitch, then I understand. Lol. I was freakin' out earlier.

**Rose:** (SNG slowly backs away) Let's chill, ok, let's just chi-i-i-i-ill... But anyway, here's the update! No more scaring the authoress, ne?

**Tennyo:** Ok, here you go! Sorry if you thought it took a while... It was kind of a hard chapter..

**RM:** Ok, yeah, you and Rose both need to lay off the copy-paste button... Lol, j/k. ty for review!

(SNG takes a deep breath) Wow! That took a whole page! Now I'm hungry!

WAFFLES!

Neji: Mine!

Mumble grumble...


	7. Animosity

**Crimson Love

* * *

**

Sigh… what can S.N.G say about a chapter such as this…? Um. Well, no flames, please! I understand protests for your favorite character's sake, but… yeah.

Explanation for quick update: I LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH! Lol. Plus, I finished this nice and quick because this chapter was part of what I've been building up to… you'll see what I mean…

Oh oh I know! Let's vote for our favorite pairings, ne? (SNG loves voting) You knows, you might actually change my mind if a lot of people vote….

Kyuubi: (jumps on SNG's head) GET IN MA BELLA!

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Animosity

* * *

**

Shizuka was annoyed (I begin a lot of chapters like that, don't I?). She had woken up at the crack of dawn (actually, it was three-thirty a.m.) and, for some reason, could by no physical power convince herself to go back to sleep. So, she got up, took off her eye-cover sleeping thing (you know, like, those things girls put over their eyes at night? Yeah), put on her sunglasses (at night?) and went to curl up in her chair with her copy of _Fushigi Yugi, _Vol. 3, and read quietly to herself, utilizing the moonlight to her benefit.

She had just finished reading (sniffling softly) the part where Tamahome declared undying love to Miaka, when a voice started reading over her shoulder, "'You're no trouble... All the time I was in my world, I couldn't forget you... I had to see you again... That's why I came back...' What the hell are you reading, woman?"

Shizuka dropped the book, and would have shrieked if a hand hadn't covered her mouth, muffling the sound. She whipped around, ready to smack whoever had snuck in her room.

Itachi caught her hand, smirking. "I didn't think you'd be the type to be into romance manga." He climbed over the window sill, standing in her bedroom in all his gorgeous, smirking glory.

"Mmph!" she shouted, her cry still muffled by his hand. "Mmph mm-mm-mm hmph!"

"Hmm?" He removed the hand.

"What are you doing here!" she hissed.

"Why, I was pining for you, love, so I came to see you." He knelt next to the arm of her chair, still holding her hand, gazing up at her.

"D-Don't you think that's coming off j-just a little too strong?" she stammered, blushing under his gaze. When he continued to stare at her in silence, not letting go of her hand, she began to feel a little uncomfortable. "Um... How's your arm?" She glanced at his upper arm where Ukon's bullet had cut it.

"Fine," he said casually. "I got it fixed up." He continued to look at her.

"Er... How'd you get in here? Didn't the–"

"Your security system lacks much, love."

"I'll have to fix that if I want to avoid these nightly raids, then, won't I?" she said coolly, a little of her unruly side coming back.

He just smirked at her. "I'd like to see you try."

"I'm serious!"

"I believe you..." He suddenly loomed closer. "But I promise you, I will find a way." He gently kissed the corner of her lips again, lingering there.

Shizuka blushed furiously as he pulled away to sit on his heels before her, gazing up at her like an obedient puppy. He looked rather ridicules compared to the tough, stalker Itachi she knew at school. _Actually... he's still a stalker,_ she thought, the bridge of her nose turning a slight blue. "Why are you so obsessed with me!" she demanded of him.

He sighed slightly, closing his eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when his gaze was no longer on her. "I was trying to tell you in the car," he explained in a low voice. "When I met you... I felt like I already knew you... and I couldn't get you out of my head..."

Shizuka stared. "You really _are_ my stalker."

"No, I am not," he said firmly, glaring swiftly. "But for the past four days, all I can think about..." He looked up at her again. "...Is you."

Shizuka gulped slightly as his words washed over her. "So..." She tried to process it. "...Are you saying this is, like, reincarnation, or something?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Um... Oh?"

He gave her a small smirk. "Would your daddy let you stay home from school alone tomorrow?"

Shizuka blinked. "Um... if I was sick, I guess... Why?"

"Would he leave any of your little buddies home with you?"

"I... guess not... Kimimaro still has to go to school..." _Where is he going with this...?_

"Then I suggest you get very sick, very fast, love, because I'm going to be at this window at ten o'clock tomorrow to pick you up." He stood.

_Oh... that's where. _"Say what!" She starred up at him.

He looked down at her calmly. "Did I stutter?"

"No, but what makes you think–"

"Would you rather go to school?" Itachi asked bluntly.

"...No..."

"Then tomorrow, I want you waiting for me in the shortest skirt and tank top you own," he ordered, swinging his legs over the window sill. He smirked at her, standing on the ground below her window. "If you're not there, I'm not above dragging you out of class," he informed her before disappearing into the night. (Ooo, dramatic!)

Shizuka starred at the spot where his face had been a moment ago, then suddenly huffed angrily. _Damn him, telling me what to do!_ She glanced at her cell phone lying on her night stand. The screen-saver clock read 4:50. _Damn. Well, at least I killed an hour or so. _Yawning hugely, she grabbed her bath robe and went into her bath room.

Sakura woke up at about five thirty the next morning to Shizuka shaking her roughly. "Huh... what?"

"Come on, get up," her dark-haired friend ordered in a slightly raspy voice. "It's your turn for a shower." She ended this statement by coughing and hacking a bit.

"Are you ok?" Sakura asked groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, slightly reluctant to leave the warm covers.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shizuka answered, covering her mouth as another small coughing fit took her. "Go ahead and take your shower." She went to sit in her chair. "There's towels and stuff by the tub."

"Ok." Shivering slightly, Sakura got out of bed and went into the bathroom, rubbing her arms for warmth. The tiled floor of the bathroom was freezing, but there was steam hanging in the air; Shizuka had probably just gotten out of the shower.

Sakura highly doubted Shizuka had had any say in the decorations of her bathroom. The walls of the bathroom were an off-white, and the sink and tub where made of white marble. The shower curtains were light pink, as were the towels and the sink accessories (i.e.: soap tub, tooth brush cup, etc.). There were also framed pictures of pink lotuses on the walls. Next to the tub were two doors. Opening the one closest to the tub, she saw it was a kind of a linen closet, full of extra towels and shampoo and soap. The other door, she saw, was a toilet stall, with the toilet and all its necessary items (toilet paper) in it. She personally thought the whole arrangement was rather cute, but had a feeling Shizuka hated it.

After Sakura had taken her shower (having experimented with the different-smelling shampoos for about five minutes before beginning), she wrapped herself up in a towel and went back into Shizuka's room.

Kimimaro looked up at her where he was playing _Naruto 2_, fully dressed in his school uniform. "Don't mind me," he said calmly, going back to his game. "I won't look."

Sakura blushed furiously as Shizuka, coughing slightly, ushered her into her closet. "Does he always do that?" Sakura asked while Shizuka picked out some clothes for her to wear long enough to get to her house to put her uniform on.

"Do what?"

"Just pop up like that."

"I never noticed," Shizuka said calmly, handing Sakura an outfit. "Here, wear this. It's nothing skimpy or anything, so your mom won't freak out."

"Ok, thanks." Sakura took the clothes Shizuka gave her and lifted them up. She sweat-dropped. "'Nothing skimpy'!"

"Hey, it's the most un-skimpy thing I own, ok?" Shizuka rolled her eyes, coughing against the back of her hand. "Here." She took a hanger off the pole thing. "Wear this instead. It's the suit I wore on the first day of school."

"Are you sure you're not sick?" Sakura asked, frowning as she took the hanger.

"Yeah, I'm fine, ok, lemme alone." Shizuka stalked out of the closet.

Sakura shrugged it off and got dressed. She'd decided to wear her own... under garments... since it was pretty obvious Shizuka's chest was about two sizes bigger then hers; she didn't feel that weird about it, since she'd be changing at home anyway. Sakura scrutinized herself in the mirror after she was finished. The black slacks' legs were a little short on her, but the waist had an inch or so to spare so they hung low enough on her hips. The white, button-down shirt she left untucked so her mother wouldn't notice the low waistline of the pants. Normally, shirts like this made Sakura look even smaller then she actually was, but this shirt had a bust-gathering sewn at the center of the chest, so it made her look really feminine.

Sakura smiled to herself. "I look good in other people's clothes." Holding this piece of confidence to herself, she left the closet.

Ukon and Kidoumaru were there, now, fully dressed in their uniforms (and Kidoumaru had his trench coat). Kidoumaru was playing video games with Kimimaro and Ukon was picking over Shizuka like a worried hen.

"You look sick, Shizuka-sama, I bet you caught something last night, wearing just your uniform, I think you should go ask your father to let you stay home," he said in a genuinely worried tone.

"You look good in my clothes, Sakura," Shizuka called, ignoring his worrying. "Very cute."

And, of course, as is human nature, everyone in the room had to turn to see.

Sakura blushed at all the sudden attention. Kimimaro just nodded his head in approval of the outfit choice, and Kidoumaru followed suit so the two could continue their game. Ukon, however, just looked at her.

"Um... What?" (**Why's he just starring at us like an idiot!**)

"Huh?" He starred at her. "Oh." He shook himself slightly. "You look... uh..." He scratched the back of his head. "Well... actually... you look... um..."

"Don't strain yourself, Alpha-kun." Shizuka turned the page of the manga she was reading. (A/N: In the manga, during Ukon and Sakkon's summoning Jutsu, Ukon says 'Alpha,' and Sakkon says 'Beta'. See Naruto manga somewhere around the 200-range if you're still confused)

Ukon turned five shades of pink and turned on her. "I wasn't straining myself!"

"I think she looks good," Kidoumaru said casually, clicking away at the controller.

"Maybe I'm just a little more _shy _then you, huh?" Ukon snapped as he and Sakura both blushed.

"Yeah, ok, Alpha-kun." Kidoumaru rolled his eyes.

"Don't call me that!"

_Ukon's shy...? _Sakura thought thoughtfully (wow that sounded weird) as said twin pummeled Kidoumaru.

"Che." Ukon tucked his hair behind his head and sat down on Shizuka's bed. "Great fuckin' way to start the day."

"Good morning, Shizuka-kun," Orochimaru called, sticking his head in the door. (Everyone just congregates in her room, don't they?)

"Hi, Daddy." Shizuka didn't take her eyes off her manga.

"Good morning..." Orochimaru looked at Sakura. "...Shizuka's friend."

"Good morning, Shizuka's dad." Sakura gave him one of her sweet smiles but, in reality, she was glaring at him inwardly. _He's the guy who beat Ukon up last night!_

"Shizuka-kun, you can't go to school with a cough like that!" Orochimaru cried as Shizuka coughed into her hand.

"I'm fine, daddy."

"No, you're not! That's what you get for sleeping with your window open! You're staying home today, I don't care what you say." Orochimaru turned to Ukon. "Inform her homeroom teacher that she will be absent today."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Sakura stole a glance at him. He was starring at a spot on the floor, his hands on his knees, shivering unconsciously, like a bird being cornered in its cage by a cat.

"Be ready to leave in ten minutes," Orochimaru instructed before leaving.

Sakura sat down near Ukon; the others in the room were two absorbed in their own doings to notice how distressed he was. "Ukon?" She touched his arm; he flinched.

"Yes, Sakura?" he said in a would-be calm voice.

"Are you ok?" she asked softly, so only he could hear.

He gave her a small grin. "I'm fine, Sakura."

"You don't _look_ fine..." she said in a worried tone.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, his voice slightly care-free.

"Well–"

"Come on, dickheads, we gotta go," Tayuya said, sticking her head in the door. "Shizuka-sama, why aren't you dressed?"

"She's staying home," Ukon explained as Kidoumaru and Kimimaro finished their game. "Come on, let's go."

After the four boys (plus Tayuya) had left, Shizuka gave Sakura a keen look.

"...What?" Sakura shifted nervously.

Shizuka shrugged. "Nothing. I just didn't think Ukon went for younger girls."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "What! No! I–"

"I'm just saying, his last girlfriend was around his age." Shizuka shrugged again and went back to the manga.

Sakura flushed angrily, stalking out of the room. _Jeez! Can't anyone just be _friends!

Hardly anyone spoke on the ride to Sakura's house. Sakkon and Ukon were riding with her, and it was highly common knowledge that Sakkon _did not_ like Sakura. At all. So, Sakkon glared out of the window, Ukon watched clouds go by, and Sakura finally got to play with the buttons.

Sakkon glanced over as she reached for one of the buttons. "Don't touch that."

"Huh?" She touched it.

Loud polka music filled the car.

A temper-vein appeared on Sakkon's forehead as he reached over and turned off the music. "I said don't–Don't touch that one, either."

"Hmm?" She pushed it.

Country music.

Temper-veins. Plural, at that.

"What about this one?" She pushed another one.

R&B.

I believe Sakkon's entire forehead was overtaken by the vein.

"How 'bout this?"

Britney Spears.

"Don't. Touch. The. Buttons!" Sakkon snapped, pulled her hand away from them.

Sakura just smiled sweetly. Oh, how she loved making easily-annoyed people... well, annoyed.

Sakura's mom was waiting for them when they pulled into the driveway. _Oh crap._

"Good morning, Sakura," her mom said coolly when her daughter opened the car door.

"Morning, mom." Sakura glanced back in the car. Ukon's face was as close to the glass of the window as he could get without looking stupid, starring up at Sakura's mom. _Oh, jeez, he's in love with my mom... _Sakura felt a soft, jealous feeling she didn't really understand.

"Thank you for bringing her home." Sakura's mom pulled Sakura out of the car and closed the door, then pulled Sakura towards the house.

"Mom, I–"

"Who were those boys?" her mom asked once they were inside.

"Sakkon and Ukon," she said meekly, knowing it was best to just answer the questions. "They go to my school."

"Why were they taking you home?" Sakura's mom crossed her arms, starring down at her daughter.

"Um... They work for Shizuka's dad."

"How old are they?"

"I forget..." _She really would kill me if I told them I was in a car with two eighteen-year-olds! ...Wow, they really are _old!

"Where did you sleep last night?"

"In Shizuka's room..."

"With just Shizuka?"

She nodded.

"Alright then. Go change into your uniform. I'm driving you to school."

Sakura heaved a sigh of relief when her mom went into the kitchen. (**Safe!**) That was pleasantly pain-free._ Great, now I'm gonna have Ukon starring at my mom at school when she drops me off, too... What's he thinking, crushing on my mom!_ Now officially annoyed again, she went upstairs to change.

**(Meanwhile)**

Shizuka looked through her closet, searching for something to wear on her little 'outing.' Her cough had 'miraculously' healed after everyone had gone to school or work, and now, she had three hours to kill trying on clothes.

Shizuka's wardrobe contained mainly tank tops, skirts, cut-off jeans and a few dresses she wore to her dad's dinner parties. Itachi had said tank top and skirt, but of course, Shizuka wasn't one to dress the way people told her to. _If he thinks he can tell me what to wear now, he's gonna think he can control everything!_ she thought huffily, pulling out a black suede skirt that came to her knees and a red peasant blouse. _No way is he telling me what to wear! I'll dress the way I want to!_

However, after trying on the skirt and blouse, she decided it 'wasn't-quite-right,'and discarded it over her shoulder.

**(Geometry/Homeroom)**

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried cheerfully, upon seeing her crush in his normal seat. "Are you feeling better?"

"Aa."

"That's good!" Sakura smiled sweetly, taking her seat.

"_Sa-ku-ra.._!"

"Hmm?" She looked at Ino, who had growled. "What?"

"You spent the night over Shizuka's!"

Sakura had a 'duh' look on her face. "Tell me, how do you get your information so fast?"

"I called your house and your mom told me. What are you thinking, spending the night over her house!"

Sakura glared. "It's none of your business if I sleep there or live there, Ino-pig!"

Ino just glared as Gai bellowed the role-call.

**(Biology)**

Sakura smiled at Kimimaro when he and Sakkon came into class. He actually gave her a small smile, and sat in Shizuka's seat, next to Sakura. "Hello," he said quietly.

"Hi." _He must be lonely without Shizuka here... He's actually talking._

Then she realized what he was saying.

"Sakura, that's not the right notebook." He pointed to the book in her hands.

"Huh?" Sakura looked down. Sure enough, she, in all her dumbness that came with Sasuke being present in class, had forgotten to get her notebook out of her locker again."Sensei," she called, raising her hand, "I think I forgot my notebook again..."

Kurenai sighed. "Again, Hanuro? Take the pass."

Ignoring Sakkon's mocking snickers, Sakura got up, took the pass, and went downstairs to her locker. _Sooner or later, she's going to think I'm meeting someone here or something... This is the second time in two days... _Sakura sighed, twiddling the combination on her locker. (She, unlike Shizuka, had mastered the mechanism quickly... either that, or her locker is normal)

"Sakura?"

She looked up from her locker. Ukon stood a little ways down from the hall, looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Yes?"

"Um..." He looked around with shifty eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my locker?" She raised an eyebrow. When he continued to look around nervously, she asked, "Did you want something?"

"...I was going to put this in there for you to find..." He held out his hand. In it was a pretty, pink carnation with a length of ribbon wrapped around the long stem. In one of the loops of the bow was a folded card.

(**What do carnations mean again?**) "You want me to give it to my mom?" she asked coolly, closing her locker, having removed her Biology notebook.

"Huh?" He starred at her in disbelief.

"Is it for my mom?"

"No... It's for..."

"Because you seemed to be quite _taken_ with her this morning," Sakura continued in the same tone.

His jaw dropped. "_What!_"

She continued to give him cold looks.

"I was just _looking_ at her!" he cried defensively. "I wanted to see if she looked like you and it was hard with the dark glass!"

"Mm-hmm, sure." She rolled her eyes.

His look of astonishment turned into a scowl. "Ok, fine." Turning on his heel, he stormed back the way he'd come, turning around the corner of the hall and out of sight.

Sakura rolled her eyes. _It's his fault for starring at my mom... and she's almost twice his age, too! _she thought angrily, following him to the stairwell at the end of the hall.

She turned when a speck of pink caught her eye. She looked down at the trash can at the corner of the hall where Ukon had turned. In it was the pink carnation, complete with note and ribbon. _Might as well see who it was for,_ she thought casually, picking it up and opening the note.

_Sakura:_

_Thank you for helping me. I'm sorry I was moody._

_Ich denke, dass ich Sie liebe._

–_Ukon._

Sakura's eyes widened when she saw it. _So it was for me... Not mom... _"Ok, I feel bad now." She untied the card from the flower and put the carnation in her binder so she could sneak it into class. She glanced at the ribbon; it was just long enough to be a hair ribbon. She gave it a small smile and tied it over her forehead, using it as a headband to keep her bangs out of her eyes. So what if it didn't match her uniform?

It matched her hair perfectly.

**(Meanwhile)**

Shizuka grimaced, throwing her head to the side, the two cucumbers she'd put over them falling off. "Damn, that is the last time I use those for baggy eyes," she said angrily, washing her face off.

Shizuka's face already felt very, very clean. She'd spent the last two hours moisturizing, plucking and experimenting with make-up, and had even used a pore-strip (which she also swore off for the rest of her life, and for good reason: that shit's painful!). She wasn't sure exactly why she was going to such lengths, but had decided a while ago on her excuse: the outfit demanded it.

She glanced at the outfit she'd picked out, hanging on a hanger on the door. Contrary to Itachi's request for skirt and tank, she'd opted for something that had been tossed in the back of her closet for a short forever: her little black dress. It had been a birthday present for her last year from one of her father's work colleagues, and her father had, consequently, never let her wear it, even in the house. She, actually, rather liked it; it was simple and sexy, with spaghetti straps and slits running high up her thighs.

She picked the dressed off the hook and examined it. _If he doesn't like this, something is seriously wrong with him,_ she thought, tossing it over her shoulder.

When she left the bathroom to go change in the closet and look for some shoes, she nearly jumped out of her skin, falling backwards on her butt. "Holy crap!"

Itachi smirked at her where he was sitting on her bed. "Hello, love, did I scare you?" The man was iced out, complete with jacket, untucked button-down shirt and loose tie. She didn't feel weird anymore about choosing the dress.

Shizuka got up, holding her heart. "Don't... do that!" she hissed.

He gave her the obedient puppy look again. "I'm sorry, love, am I too early?"

"Only by a lot," she snapped, going in her closet. "Stay right there and don't you dare come in here," she ordered before closing the door. _Jeez... He's gonna give me a heart attack one of these days,_ she thought angrily, slipping out of her bathrobe and pulling on the black dress. _If he keeps sneaking up on me, I'm making it so he'll never have children... Ever._ Thinking of wonderful, abusive thoughts, she zipped up the back and looked for shoes. She found an untouched box with 'Gucci' on it. _These stupid heels... I haven't worn these in... ever. _She took the tiny little strap-like things out of the box and put them on. _And now I remember why,_ she thought as she fell over almost at once.

She took a few walks around her closet, getting used to the heels and listening to the 'clacking,' then quickly sprayed some perfume over herself (why is the perfume in the closet?) and opened the door. "I'm ready to go," she informed Itachi.

He looked up from where he was sitting on her pillow, looking at her pictures. "That's not a skirt and tank top," he said bluntly.

"You're not going to tell me what to wear," she countered, glaring. "I wear what I want."

He smirked slightly, getting off her bed. "I see. It's a good thing that dress looks sexy, or I'd change your clothes myself."

She scowled. "You touch me in any perverted manner, and I will rip out your testicles and broil them in garlic sauce and feed them to you."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He went over to the window. "After you." He gave her another smirk as she walked past him huffily, climbing carefully out the window in her dress.

**(English)**

"We have some new students with us, class," Iruka said calmly, standing by his desk so he could have the attention of everyone in the room. "They're foreign exchange students, so let's make them feel welcome, _alright_?" He sent a few death glares to select students (A.K.A.: Kiba and Naruto).

"Hai!" they chorused. (They equaled only to the freshmen… Neji was too quiet and Ukon was asleep… again)

"Alright, then." Iruka turned to the two new students. "This is Sabaku Gaara and Sabaku Temari. Brother and sister."

All eyes turned to the two siblings. They didn't really look like they were related. The boy, Gaara, had shaggy red hair and pale green eyes surrounded by dark circles, probably either make-up or lack of sleep. The girl, Temari, had blond hair pulled into not one, but _four_ ponytails, and smirking green eyes. They said nothing as Iruka directed them to their seats in the second-to-last row, then continued with the lesson.

Sakura glanced at the two new kids, who were each barely within five feet of her. They both looked rather mean and formidable. But, then again, she'd thought Shizuka was formidable, too, and look where that landed her.

She jumped slightly when Kimimaro dropped a note in her lap. She raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ukon, but saw he was still asleep. _Kimimaro passing me a note…? Dang, he must be really lonely…_ She opened the note.

_Why aren't you and Ukon speaking to one another?_

She smiled a little. So young, and yet, so formal. She wrote back, _We had a little disagreement this morning and I guess he's still mad at me._

Kimimaro nodded his understanding of this answer and wrote back quickly.

_What did you disagree about?_

Sakura paused as she read his response. She was a little unsure about talking about her emotions and 'girl problems' with a guy… especially one who never spoke. She wrote back, explaining this (leaving out the 'silent guy' part).

He just nodded again and wrote back.

_Shizuka tells me her problems all the time. Sometimes I advice her, but I normally just listen. Apparently, I'm a good listener. And you don't have to worry about me telling anyone. I know what a secret is._

She smiled at his response. _Aw… he's so nice! No wonder Shizuka doesn't mind him being around all the time! _She wrote back and told him everything that was bothering her, from her argument with Ukon, to her problems with her mom, to her worries about school, to her worries about Shizuka and Itachi, to her pity for Neji because Shizuka didn't like him, to the fact that she was sure that she was going to get her period any day now.

Kimimaro's expression didn't change as he read through her response (which took up half a page). Then, he wrote back a response almost as long (actually, it probably would have been as long, but his hand-writing was tiny).

_As to your worries about Itachi and Shizuka, don't. Shizuka has never been one to let a man take advantage of her, and she knows how to take care of herself. Orochimaru-sama just doesn't understand that. However, I do agree with your match-up of Hyuuga Neji and Shizuka. He seems like a very nice, normal guy, and I will personally help you to get them together. Now… Ukon and your mother. As far as I'm aware, Ukon does not 'go for' thirty-year-old women. I'm sure that what he said was true and that he was simply looking for a likeness between you and your mother. I think you should trust him on that. As for your mother, I'm sure she was just worried about you. Good mothers worry about their children. I'm sure it was rather traumatizing for your mother to see her only daughter come home with two eighteen-year-olds in tow. You should respect your mother's wishes and at least tell her what she wants to know, and tell the truth. Otherwise, she won't trust you, and won't let you go anywhere._

Sakura read his response with an open mouth.

_And how old are you, again?_

_I turn fifteen next week._

_Oh. Boy, you are too young to be talking like you're fifty._

He smirked at her.

_Just because I happen to be intelligent and you're not doesn't mean you should feel inferior._

Sakura's jaw dropped at his response.

_Excuse me!_

_Was my hand-writing unclear? This is from Ukon._

Sakura looked at the piece of paper folded with Kimimaro's note. She opened it hesitantly.

_Nice ribbon._

She flushed a little, remembering that she was wearing the ribbon that had been around the flower Ukon had wanted to give her. But, she decided to be a little sneaky with her answer. Incorporate a 'thank-you' and a 'nyah-nyah' in the same response.

_You like it? It went so well with my hair._

Ukon gave her a look of disgust (more at the fact that she was talking hair accessories then anything else) and wrote back.

_Whatever. _

Sakura rolled her eyes at his response. This guy was _so_ not a conversationalist. She looked at Kimimaro's response, as well.

_Ask him to forgive you for jumping to conclusions. He's not going to be friendly unless you do._

Sakura raised an eyebrow at Kimimaro before writing back.

_How do you know?_

_Sakura, I have been living with him for fourteen years. I think I know how he works by now._

Her jaw dropped. (**Fourteen years!**) She sighed and reopened Ukon's note and went about apologizing. After all, she had made him a bento box again, and she really didn't want it to go to waste.

_I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions about you and my mom, I promise never to do it again and I really like my flower. Ok?_

Kimimaro gave her a satisfied look as he passed the note to Ukon. (Yeah, he read over her shoulder)

Ukon's jaw dropped in shock when he read her apology.

However, his response was sarcastic and evil.

_Yeah, you should be. I wasn't even going to give you the damn thing, but Shizuka kept sending me text messages saying that, if I didn't, I would experience excruciating pain when I got home._

_Is saying "you're welcome" and "I forgive you" too much for you? And maybe a little sorry here and there?_

_What have I got to apologize for? You're the one who was being a PMS'ing bitch._

Sakura scowled at his response. Kimimaro just rolled his eyes and went back to doing the class work, which Sakura had apparently forgotten all about.

_Then I suppose you won't mind if I give the lunch I made for you to Sasuke-kun?_

_...You made me another lunch?_

_Yes, I did! But if you're going to keep on being mean to me, I'll just give it to Sasuke-kun. I'm sure you won't mind. _

_Fine, give it to him. I don't want your stupid pink food._

Sakura rolled her eyes, putting the note in her pencil case, deciding firmly that that conversation was _over._

**(Meanwhile)**

Shizuka yawned into her hand, looking at a jewelry display. Itachi lingered nearby, waiting for her to make her decision. He had explained when they entered the mall that she could have anything she wanted, so long as it wasn't tacky. Itachi was already carrying several large bags of purchases from clothes stores and whatnot. Shizuka, on the other hand, carried a small bag containing a small bag from Shard's Jewelers.

"I want that one." She pointed to a silver ring with a carved onyx stone in it and small diamonds on either side.

"There's a matching necklace that'll go with the black dress you just bought." Itachi pointed to a small onyx pendant hanging on a silver chain.

Shizuka shrugged. "It's your credit card."

"Hey, old man," Itachi called to the shop owner. "We'll take the onyx set."

"Are you sure?" the shop owner asked, coming over with his set of keys. "All together, it's 2000."

"Bag it," Itachi bragged. Because his hands were full, he turned his back to Shizuka and said, "Get my card, love."

Shizuka got his wallet out of his back pocket and took one of the credit cards out and gave it to the shop owner. Two minutes later found Shizuka carrying two jewelry bags and a happy little smile.

"Thank you, sempai," she said sweetly, giving him her suck-up smile and putting her hands behind her back.

"Oh, it's 'sempai' now, is it?" He smirked. (sempai: older classmate)

"It's true, isn't it?" Shizuka rolled her eyes as her cell phone beeped, showing she had a new text message. She took it out of Itachi's coat pocket and looked at it. "Kimimaro. 'Tell yourimmature friends to grow up and stop arguing.' …I thought I told Ukon that like, two hours ago."

Itachi shrugged. "Your little Ukon friend doesn't strike me as the most mature person alive."

"You're only saying that because he shot you."

"Why, yes, yes, I am. What of it?"

She just rolled her eyes and replaced her phone in his pocket, walking off to Hot Topic to max out some more credit cards.

**(English/Lunch)**

Sakura got out her lunch and the lunch she'd made for Ukon. Ripping off the patterned paper around the chopsticks bearing the senior's name, she turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, do you want this lunch?" she asked sweetly. "It was for someone else but they don't want it."

Kimimaro tossed Ukon a glare. Ukon glared back and rested his head on his crossed arms, looking pissed. At what, they couldn't be sure.

Sasuke shrugged and took the bento box and unwrapped it, breaking apart his chopsticks. "Arigatou," he said quietly before beginning to eat.

Sakura smiled brightly at him before beginning to eat her own box.

"Where's Shizuka?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow as he came over with his stuff. He gestured to the empty space between Ukon and Kimimaro.

"Home sick," Kimimaro answered, stealing one of the fried shrimp out of Sakura's bento box.

Sasuke looked up. "She is?"

Sakura nodded. "She had a really nasty cough earlier. It sounded like her head was gonna come off."

"Hn," Sasuke muttered, before going back to his lunch.

"Is it good, Sasuke-kun?"

"Aa. Did you make this?"

Sakura nodded, smiling brightly. "I'm glad you like it!"

"Otaki."

They looked up when they heard the sneering voice. The new girl, Temari, was smirking down at Ukon. Ukon looked up at her blankly. "What?"

"Yamiko asked me to give this to you, if I saw you," she explained, giving him a folded piece of paper.

He looked at it, but didn't take it. "She's here, too?"

"Mm-hmm." Temari dropped the note in his hand before she stalked back to where her brother was sitting by himself.

Kimimaro looked at the note. "So."

"I figured she'd be here, too," Ukon said with a shrug, tucking the note in his front pocket.

"Who's Yamiko?" Neji asked curiously while Kimimaro ate part of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "You can have that, I don't like peanut butter," he added to Kimimaro, who shrugged, totally shameless about eating other people's food.

"Just someone I used to know," Ukon said casually before putting his head in his arms again. "Gah-roan."

Sakura tossed Ukon a suspicious look as she continued with her lunch. "Hey, Neji," she said after a few moments of long silence. He looked up. "We're getting Shizuka some get-well flowers from Ino's shop after school."

"We are?" Kimimaro raised an eyebrow at her.

Kick.

"Oh, yeah, we are." He nodded.

Neji raised an eyebrow.

"So, do you want to come with us and get her a flower or two or twelve?" Sakura asked the black-haired Hyuuga, popping a finger-sandwich in her mouth.

Neji rolled his eyes. "She doesn't strike me as the kind to like flowers."

"All girls like flowers," Sakura corrected.

Neji scoffed. "Fine, I'll go. But if she burns them, don't complain."

"She won't," Sakura argued, going back to her lunch.

**(Gym)**

Sakura yawned a little, sitting in the gym while she waited for Ino and Hinata to be finished changing. It was going to be rather quiet today, without Shizuka there. But oh well.

"Sakura." Kimimaro gave her a small smile as he approached her.

She returned it, patting the space on the hard floor next to her. _Poor guy, _she thought as he sat down next to her. _He really must be lonely… I don't mind or anything, but still…_

"I suppose you and Ukon didn't exactly resolve your argument," Kimimaro said with the same small smile.

She shook her head, frowning as she clasped her knees to her chest with her arms. "No, and I don't care if we don't. He's a big jerk."

"I see. Then you don't mind that his old girlfriend is in town and is currently flirting with him?"

"What?" Sakura looked around. Sure enough, there was a girl standing next to Ukon where he was sitting on the bleachers. She had long, wavy brown hair, and large brown eyes with long, dark eyelashes which she batted at him fervently as she spoke, hands behind her back, smiling sweetly. At one point, she reached over and stroked his hair, probably commenting on it's length. Ukon didn't say anything in response, but Sakura saw him flinch before she touched him, like he did with everyone. "That's his ex-girlfriend?"

Kimimaro nodded. "She's Yamiko. They went out for about a year before she broke up with him before we moved. He never told us why, but he was pretty depressed about it for a while."

"And now I'm guessing she wants him back?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Basically."

"Hmph." Sakura looked away from the scene. "Let her. I don't care."

Kimimaro just raised his eyebrow at her. Changing the subject, he asked, "What was that in the note about a flower?"

"I knew you read over my shoulder." She gave him a mock glare. "I told you, he wanted to give me a flower and—"

"And you thought it was for your mom. I remember. Can I see the note?"

Sakura pulled it out of her gym short's pocket (I hate the traditional Japanese gym shorts… they look like underwear… These shorts are like American shorts) and gave it to him.

"Hmm." Kimimaro read the short message. "You don't know what this means, do you?" He gestured to the German phrase at the bottom.

She shook her head. "I was going to find an online translator after school."

"I have one on my hand-held." Kimimaro stood up and went over to the bleachers where everyone had put there book bags. He came back with the device. "Ok…" He entered the phrase. "'_Ich denke, dass ich Sie liebe' _means… 'I think that I'—" His eyes widened as the screen on his hand-held went black. "No… Damn batteries." He sighed. "Sorry."

She shrugged, smiling. "It's ok. At least we know what most of it means."

"I know that 'sie' means 'you,' but I'm not sure about 'liebe,'" Kimimaro admitted. "I only have the translator because he used to shout German phrases at us after he started teaching himself the language."

"So he actually does speak German?" _I thought he was kidding…_

"Unfortunately, yes." Kimimaro sighed. "I only know a few phrases, though. You tend to pick up the meaning."

"What do you know?" she asked curiously.

"Sie haben schöne Augen."

"What?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I said, you have beautiful eyes."

Sakura flushed slightly.

**Flashback**

"_Does she have green eyes like you?"_

_Sakura nodded._

"_Then she probably is pretty," Ukon said casually._

**End flashback**

_Why am I thinking about that? _"So, what, does this mean you like me?" she asked coyly, smirking at him.

Kimimaro's eyes widened and he quickly looked away. "N-No… I like someone else…" he said shyly.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

He nodded.

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"Um… Yamanaka Ino…"

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Ino-pig!"

Kimimaro flinched, blushing all kinds of pretty pink as he starred at a spot on the floor. "But… it doesn't matter, because she likes Sasuke."

"Aw…" She patted him on the shoulder, regretting making him feel bad. "It's ok…" She smiled at him. "If you told Ino that whole 'see ha-been scone oo-gen' thing you just told me, I'm sure you'll be fine."

He looked at her hopefully. "Really?"

Sakura nodded, smiling. "Sure! But you better explain what it means, or she'll just stare at you." (**He seriously does like Ino-pig!** Inner-Sakura cried)

Kimimaro returned the smile. "Vielen dank," he said as Jiraiya called the class to attention.

"What's that mean?" she asked as he got up.

"You figure it out," he answered, extending a hand to help her up.

Today, the class was playing kickball. The teams went as follows:

Team One:

Neji

Sasuke

Tayuya

Sakura

Kiba

Kidoumaru

Lee

Ukon

Sakkon

Jiroubou

Shino

Team Two:

Ino

Naruto

Hinata

Chouji

Shikamaru

TenTen

Gaara

Temari

Kimimaro

Kankurou

Yamiko

"Ok! I'll be pitching, so look sharp, alright? Team Two is up first!" Jiraiya called, picking up a red bouncy ball. "Team One, out on the field."

"I'll be our catcher," Ukon offered.

Sakura, the team captain, said nothing, turning to the rest of the team. "Claim a base or position on the field, ok? I really, _really _don't want to lose."

Neji scoffed as he and Lee headed to the out field. "Like we could," he told his friend.

"Of course! Youthful energy is the most fervent example of life!"

"…No, Lee. I meant, some idiot had the lack of brain cells to put all of Shizuka's friends on one team. There's no way we can lose." At Lee's depressed look, he added, "But youthful energy is still awesome."

Kankurou (a boy who looked like he was far too obsessed with face paint) was first up. Sakura, however, wasn't paying attention to him; she was too busy watching Kimimaro approach Ino, who was talking to Hinata and Chouji, over where Team Two was lining up at bat. Kimimaro tapped the blonde on the shoulder lightly, and, when he had her attention, mumbled something. Ino had a 'duh…wha?' look on her face, until Kimimaro mumbled something else, then she frowned at him, which caused poor Kimimaro to blush and run away. Sakura groaned, realizing her mistake: Ino didn't trust Shizuka or her friends; Sakura had sent Kimimaro to the lion's den when she told him that complimenting Ino would be alright. _Poor Kimi-kun,_ she thought sadly, then went back to concentrating on the game… in time to see a ball fly past her head.

"Sakura!" Ukon shouted as Kankurou ran past her. "What the hell are you doing!"

Sakura just glared at him as Kankurou claimed second base. _Baka Ukon…_

Sakura felt something irk when Yamiko sauntered up to take her turn. She turned to smile sweetly at Ukon and said something before Jiraiya tossed her the ball. Yamiko gave the ball a tiny little kick, then turned to giggle at Ukon before skipping off to first base. Ukon quickly snatched up the ball and threw it to Sakura, who was sure to pay attention this time.

Yamiko actually whined a little when she got tagged out, but Sakura ignored her, sending Ukon another glare as the older girl wailed at him for "making her get tagged." _I can't believe he actually goes for this kind of whiny girl,_ Sakura thought in disbelief as Kimimaro took his turn.

**(Meanwhile)**

Itachi and Shizuka sat in Itachi's car, eating some take-out. Itachi had offered to take her to another restaurant, but she'd declined, deciding she'd had quite enough of pampering to last her for a while. Plus, she'd had enough of fancy restaurants at her dad's dinner parties.

Shizuka frowned down at her burger, thinking. Something was bothering her… "Itachi," she said, after a few moments' thought.

"Yes, love?"

"Are you and Uchiha Sasuke related?" she asked curiously, voicing the eternal question.

"My baby brother," he said calmly.

Shizuka starred. "Really?"

"Aye." He looked at her. "You know him?"

"He's in a few of my classes," she explained.

"You have my pity," he said, patting her on the head. She swatted his hand away.

"Actually," she said casually, looking out the window, "Sasuke's not that bad."

He starred at her. "Eh?"

"He's pretty cool."

"Eh?"

"And hot."

"Eh!"

"And he's my age, too."

"_Eh_!"

"I might just ask him out next time I see him."

"EH!"

"I'm kidding."

"Don't kid like that, woman," he ordered, going back to his Big Mac.

"I have a name, you know!" she snapped.

"Yes, but I like calling you 'love' better."

**(Still Gym)**

Needless to say, Team One won the game. Why? Because Yamiko was a great handicap. Half the time she was at bat, she spent giggling at Ukon. And when she actually played, she didn't kick the ball hard enough, or ran away from it when it came at her, shrieking like it was a snake.

Sakura scowled at the older girl while they waited for the bell to ring. Once again, Yamiko was standing next to Ukon, flirting like no tomorrow.

Sakura had pin-pointed exactly what she'd been feeling lately when she had seen Yamiko glomp Ukon: Sakura was jealous. Yes, very, very jealous. Before Yamiko had come to the school, Sakura had been one of three girls that Ukon would actually acknowledge. Now, here was this evil bee-yotch stealing all his time and space.

She looked up when Kimimaro crept over to her side, looking soulless and utterly crushed. "I'm sorry, Kimimaro…"

He looked up at her blandly, then sighed, starring at the floor again. "I should have known she would react like that… I'm just not Sasuke…"

Sakura chose not to argue with this solid logic, so she just comforted. "It's ok… Well, no it's not… but it's her fault for not seeing that you're such a cool guy."

He looked up at her again. "You think so?"

She nodded firmly. "I know so."

He managed a small smile. "Vielen dank, Sakura."

"Does that mean 'thank you'?"

He nodded, smiling lightly as a thought crossed Sakura's mind: Shizuka was the only person Kimimaro knew from his next class besides Neji and Sasuke—there would be no one to keep him company! She knew he wouldn't linger around Sasuke, because of Ino, and that left Neji… Hm. "Wait here," she told Kimimaro before going over to where Neji was talking to Lee and Ukon (who had Yamiko hanging off his neck). Ignoring the other two, she asked Neji, "Will you keep Kimimaro company next class?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Just, like, let him sit with you, ok?" Sakura begged. "He won't bother you. He's really lonely without Shizuka being here."

"I'll bet," Ukon said. (He was ignored)

"Will you? Please?" Sakura clasped her hands before her face, looking up at Neji with a pleading face.

Before Neji would answer, however, Yamiko leaned over Ukon's shoulder to get a better look at Sakura. "Who are _you_?" the brown-haired girl asked, frowning.

"Girlfriend." Lee patted her shoulder.

Sakura punched him. "I'm Neji's friend," she answered. Then, she offered a prize-winning fake smile as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a pink hair ribbon. "Do you want this?" she asked Yamiko, holding it out. "It would look cute."

Ukon starred at the ribbon as it exchanged hands, then starred at Sakura's back as she went over to Kimimaro again.

"That was immature, Sakura," Kimimaro gently rebuked. "See, look, he's starring at you now."

Sakura gave Kimimaro an evil smirk. "This means war. That bitch is goin' _down._"

"He's still looking at you."

Sakura turned and, sure enough, Ukon was starring at her like she'd grown two heads. She gave him a sweet little wave which ended in a violent hand-motion, causing him to turn away. She turned to Kimimaro, smirking in a way that made his flesh crawl. "I have a plan."

Kimimaro smiled, but, on the inside, he thought desperately, _Please don't let this involve me…_

He was not that lucky.

* * *

Please no flamies for Kimimaro and Ino! Or Yamiko... She was the O.C. for _A Night To Remember..._ Go read it if you're unsure.

Okie dokie, review answers! (Kenshin grin) I'm so happy! This fic gets so many reviews, I feel like a kid at Christmas!

Tell you what: after I pass the 100-review mark (if I ever do) I'll stop begging for reviews, ok?

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin:** Yeah I already knew all that stuff about Kankurou. If you go on Google and search his name, you'll kind a bunch of pictures of the original Kankurou and his puppet, Karasu. I didn't know the bit about Naruto's Sexy No Jutsu, tho! Lol, ty for telling me! (Kenshin grin)

**Dragonman180: **Lol, Shizuka's car lights. Funny! I have a picture of a chibi Orochimaru, it was a fan art drawn by some dude in Canada or whatever. Lol. I love cute little baby pictures like that! It's kawaii! Dude, you know what, I think you're my only guy-reviewer… Weird. Oh well, you never know; some of these 'other people' might be guys, and I just don't know it. Lol.

**HinatasBiggestFanBoy:** I was incredibly high on sugar when I wrote that. Lol. I wanted to see how many people I could scare. (Apparently, a lot) I'm glad you liked it! Your reviews are funny! Thank you!

**Rose: **Is this one long enough? It was roughly 22 pages when I wrote it… (shifty eyes) Please don't hurt me!

**Lily the best: **Lol, I just e-mailed you before writing these responses. I'm glad you like it!

**AznNarutoGrl-91: **Yeah, if you read books about the Middle Ages and whatnot, they talk about bastards being fatherless children. I read King Arthur books religiously, so I have all this useless information stored up here and there. Lol.

**AlphaC:** Now I feel pressured to make sure I make this good for the non-high-school-fic-reader… (shifty eyes) I hope you like it, though!

**Kie-san: **I like writing long chapters now because… well… I have more to write about, don't I? Plus, I hate it when you have to wait a short forever for a chapter, and then it's short as crap. That just sucks. Lol, Shizuka's just a hyperactive, loud, spoiled, lazy brat… but she's so lovable! Lol why I am saying about my own personality… I'm the exact opposite of lovable… I have more people who hate me then those who like me. Lol, oh well.

**Riiight: **I updated REALLY fast. Lol, sorry it took so long. But… I didn't get the comment about "get back on Shizuka next chapter"… What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Kyuubi: GET IN MY BELLA!


	8. Die Gefühle von Ukon

**Crimson Love**

Hello and welcome to chapter eight!

Wow, this story is moving fast as shit! 8 chapters already? (and 80-some reviews, last time I checked. Thank you)

I noticed everyone felt real sorry for Kimimaro… yeah. Me, too. Poor guy is so unloved. Well… he's loved by everyone BUT Ino… Shizuka and Sakura just love him to pieces, ne?

This chapter took me a while to write. I was a little preoccupied with… stuff. Like, I moved recently, so we're still moving stuff from the old house to the new one. Plus, I'm trying to get my two Italien greyhounds house-broken. Oh yes, and now, I have to write a chapter for one of H-R's stories, isn't that wonderful?

Sigh. I am so under appreciated.

Anyway, here's the new chappie… hope you enjoy it. (Is not in the least bit hyper… actually, she is feeling rather depressed… for what reason, she does not know)

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Die Gefühle von Ukon**

"I refuse!" Neji shouted.

"Come on, please, Neji?" Sakura begged, for what had to be the second time that day.

"I refuse! No! Don't get me involved in your little love-circle!" Neji held up his hands.

"Ple-e-ease, Neji? _Sempa-a-a-aii_?"

Kimimaro said nothing, walking in Sakura's shadows. He, personally, was relieved it wasn't him Sakura was picking on. Sakura was Kimimaro's friend, and Kimimaro was a good friend, but he didn't want to get involved, either, after a certain point.

"I just need you to be my boyfriend for three days, ok?" Sakura begged. "Please? Just three days?"

"No means no!"

Sakura looked at Kimimaro, who shrugged lightly. She sweat-dropped. She'd gotten used to him following her; she actually thought it was kind of cute; but he could be a little more helpful!

"I don't get what you're so worked up about," Neji said, pulling Sakura from her thoughts. "So what if Ukon's ex-girlfriend is in town? It's not like they're getting back together."

"I would think you'd know," Sakura said coyly. "After all, you freaked out when Shizuka went on a _date_ with _Itachi._"

Neji stopped dead, his back to them.

"That's cold," Kimimaro whispered.

"I know." She winked. "One more push and he's done…" She turned back to Neji. "For all we know, they were probably _making out_ all night!"

Kimimaro's jaw dropped. "What!"

Sakura sweat-dropped. "I was kidding…" She yelped when she felt cold fingers encircle around her neck.

"If you do not shut up," Neji growled in her ear, "I will make it so you never draw breath again. Got it?"

Sakura nodded mutely. He released her and went into his class. "Come on, Kimimaro," he called over his shoulder.

Kimimaro looked blank for a moment, then grinned and followed the older boy into the classroom.

Sakura frowned slightly, thinking. _Ok, now there's no way that plan'll work… We need a new plan. _(**One that doesn't include that asshole!**)

Assuming a thoughtful expression, she went into her classroom.

**(Meanwhile)**

"Shizuka-kun," Orochimaru called, knocking on her door. "I came home early to see if you needed anything!" He frowned slightly when she didn't answer. "Shizuka-kun?" He slid open the door.

The room inside was empty. He went over to the bathroom and looked, but that was empty too, as was the closet. Scowling darkly, he stormed out of the room and down the hall.

**(Later)**

Shizuka peeked around in her window before opening it. "Ok, the coast's clear." She swung her legs over the sill and stepped in, followed shortly by Itachi, handing her a few of the bags, which she quickly put in her closet or under her bed. When the load was finished being transferred, she went back over to the window. "Thank you, sempai," she said sweetly.

Itachi smirked, leaning in. "It's a pleasure, Hakai-teki," he whispered, before pressing his lips against hers.

Shizuka's eyes widened. _Oh my god!_ She starred at him as he pulled away. "What the hell was _that_?" she managed.

"A kiss, Hakai-teki."

She starred at him as he suddenly disappeared, climbing up into a tree and scaling the wall. _Oh… so that's how he got in…_ she thought absently before going back to her closet to change into her pajamas. (How did he get in when he had her with him?)

**(Meanwhile)**

(Do I use that enough, or what?)

Sakura tossed Yamiko a visible scowl when they left the school. Once again, the girl was hanging all over Ukon, cooing and petting his hair. Ukon's face was expressionless, and he didn't say anything, but he didn't tell her to stop, either, as he headed over to the limos with the others.

Kimimaro turned to Sakura. "Are you going to Ino's flower shop?"

"Huh?" Sakura dragged her gaze away from Yamiko and Ukon to look at the white-haired boy. "Oh! Yeah. Neji's going with us, too." She turned to the black-haired boy.

Neji rolled his eyes. "I'm only going because you won't give me any peace if I don't."

Sakura smirked. "Yeah, that's right." She turned back to Kimimaro. "Are you ok with going to her shop? I mean… she _is_ going to be there…"

Kimimaro nodded, smiling. "Of course. We should get nice things for Shizuka." (Um… I think she's gotten enough nice things today to last her a lifetime, Kimi-kun…)

Sakura nodded, smiling, as the three of them got into the limo. To Sakura's immediate dislike, however, Ukon followed them in.

"The other car's going a different route," he explained, closing the door behind him.

Kimimaro nodded his understanding of this while Sakura sat next to the window and scowled out it. _It could have been worse,_ she reasoned. _Yamiko could be here._

Tap-tap-tap.

_Speak of the devil,_ she thought darkly as Ukon rolled down the window, revealing Yamiko's smiling face.

"You'll call me, right, Uk-kun?"

"Eh." He shrugged slightly, rolling the window up again before she could say anything else.

"….'Uk-kun'?" Kimimaro repeated, smirking.

"Oh, be quiet."

They reached the flower shop just as Ino did, both their and her rides coming from the same place. Ino raised an eyebrow when she saw them get out. "What are you doing here?" she asked suspiciously.

"We're here to buy flowers for Shizuka," Sakura answered coolly, not forgetting Ino's rejection of Kimimaro (who was hiding behind Neji). "She's sick today."

"Oh." Ino waved good bye to Hinata, whose dad had driven her home, then went into the shop. "Come on, then. I'll help you pick something out." She raised an eyebrow, noticing Ukon. "You're here again?"

He just glared, going over to a display of tiger lilies.

Sakura turned to Ino. "He's been here before?" she asked quietly, looking at a display of zinnias.

"Yeah. He was here yesterday night, real late, asking for a flower that would mean 'love' or something. I thought it was kind of weird, but I helped him anyway." Ino shrugged. "Why?"

Sakura shook her head. "No reason," she answered.

Kimimaro suddenly appeared at her elbow, clutching a few white gardenias. "I like these," he told Sakura in his quiet voice.

"They mean '_sweet love_' and '_refinement_'," Ino told him mechanically.

Kimimaro nodded. "I want these." He then went over to look at a display of yellow zinnias with Ukon.

"One kind of flower is enough," Sakura said, watching him.

"No…" He shook his head. "These are for… someone else."

Sakura starred at him until comprehension dawned on her. _Oh… those are for _Ino. She glanced at her friend, who was helping Neji with the carnation display. _I can't believe he likes her so much… she's the exact opposite of cuteness!_

Ukon came back with Kimimaro and two stargazer lilies in tow. Kimimaro now had a single yellow zinnia in one hand with his other flowers. Sakura looked around, looking for a nice, pretty flower that Shizuka wouldn't absolutely hate. She settled for a chocolate cosmos. It was a nice, dark shade, and she had a feeling Shizuka would like something dark.

Neji came over, as well, looking particularly harassed, carrying a small bouquet of red carnations and striped carnations. Ino looked particularly proud of herself, having satisfied four customers at once. She went behind the counter and rang up their orders.

Kimimaro, through much shuffling and begging looks, managed to be last in line, behind Sakura. When Ino finished wrapping Sakura's flower, he shyly approached the counter and set his selection down, asking for the yellow zinnia to be wrapped separately. After he had paid, he held his two packages for a moment or so, then held out the yellow zinnia to Ino, starring at the floor as he did.

"Huh?" Ino looked at it. "What…? I'm confused…"

"Just take it, Ino," Sakura said, smiling at Kimimaro, who was blushing a pretty shade of pink.

"Um… Ok…" Ino took the flower. "Thanks."

Kimimaro blushed even darker at that, and stammered, "It's—I—well—you—It's—you're—"

"He says 'you're welcome'," Sakura translated before steering the blushing Kimimaro away.

Sakura looked at Neji's purchase once they were all in the car. "'_Wish I could be with you_' and '_admiration_' all in one bouquet, huh, Neji-chan?"

He just glared. "Shut up. She's a thieving little brat. She forced me to get two kinds."

Kimimaro started to say something, but stopped himself and contented himself with just looking out the window.

"What's your flower mean, Ukon?" Sakura asked, forgetting that she was mad at him.

He gave her a look. "I didn't ask. It's just a flower." When he caught the look of shock she gave him, he said, in a mocking voice, "Oh, I'm sorry, that's right: flowers make the world go 'round and can cure all ails and make one feel alive again. They can also show feelings and emotions. Right? Is that what you're thinking?"

She shook her head. "No, I was just thinking that you sound much more intelligent with your mouth shut."

He glared while Kimimaro and Neji chuckled to themselves.

When the car pulled through the gates to Shizuka's house, Ukon glanced at the steps and suddenly groaned.

"What?" Sakura asked, frowning.

"Give this to Shizuka-sama from me, ok?" He gave the stargazer lilies to Kimimaro and opened the door, stepping out.

Sakura followed him, seeing almost at once why he was suddenly so skittish. Orochimaru glared at them from where he was leaning against the door frame.

"Kimimaro, take our guests to Shizuka's room," he ordered. "Ukon, you come with me."

"Hai," Ukon muttered, followed his 'boss' into the house. Sakura instantly began to worry. She turned to Kimimaro.

"Do you think he found out Shizuka was on a date the other night?" she asked, a worry-frown appearing.

Kimimaro shrugged. "It's possible."

"I'm going to go yell at her," she said firmly, going into the house. She knew her way now, and stormed on a one-way path to Shizuka's room. Not bothering to knock, she threw it open. "Shizuka?"

Shizuka looked up from where she was reading a manga in her bed. "Hi," she said tiredly.

"Does your dad know you were on a date?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms as the boys caught up to her.

"What?" Shizuka asked, a little too loudly and frantically. "N-No… I don't think so… What are you talking about?"

"Your date with Itachi, last night," Sakura clarified.

Was she imagining it, or did Shizuka look relieved? "No, stupid," Shizuka said, laughing. "Why would I tell him that? I'd be grounded for life!"

"Hmm." Sakura gave her the chocolate cosmos. "This is from me. I have to go to the bathroom." Even though she wanted to see Shizuka's reaction to Neji's bouquet, she wanted to see if Ukon was getting… hurt… again. She didn't care if she was supposed to be mad at him, or if he wasn't speaking to her: she had come to the conclusion that she just had to take care of him when he was injured. She quickly found the bathroom and stood outside, listening to the room across from it. It didn't take long before shouting began.

"You knew!" she heard Orochimaru shout. The shout was followed by the sound of a fist connecting to a jaw; Sakura watched the shadows dance across the rice paper wall in horror. "You knew she'd be out and you let her go anyway!"

"N-No, Orochimaru-sama…"

"You're defying me now!" A kick to the gut. "Have I ever been wrong!" Another kick. "You and your brother aren't worth the trouble I have to put up with to keep you!" A punch to the side of Ukon's head. "I'd get a lot more production out of things if I just left Kidoumaru and Tayuya in charge of them!" Ukon's body fell over; Orochimaru started kicking him in the ribs. "I think I'll just let you bastards go!"

"N-No! Orochimaru-sama, please!"

Sakura chewed her lip, feeling her heart break at the pain and fear in Ukon's voice. She clutched her hands together at her chest, watching the shadows.

"If you disappoint me again, I will!" Orochimaru shouted, kicking Ukon in the face before going to the door.

Sakura froze when he came out. He looked at her oddly. "B-Bathroom," she stammered, pointing to the door behind her.

"Oh." He smiled at her. "Have I mentioned it's a pleasure letting Shizuka-kun have a friend her own age? Please feel free to come over at any time." He patted her on the head before going down the hall.

As soon as he was out of sight, Sakura ran into the room where Ukon was. "Oh my god, Ukon!" she cried, running over to the crumpled heap on the floor that was his body.

"Sakura…" He struggled to sit up so he could look at her. With her help, he managed to sit against the wall, holding his rib cage as he did and breathing heavily. "Please tell me… you didn't hear that…"

Sakura didn't answer; she was too busy starring at his face; there was blood trickling down the corners of his mouth, as well as from a cut under his hair, darkening the soft lavender tresses with blood. He had a huge bruise above one eye, as well as on his cheek, and a bloody nose, not to mention the small cuts here and there, formed by Orochimaru's shoe or heel. It looked so… scary. "U-Ukon…" she finally managed, reaching over and touching the bruise on his cheek lightly; he flinched, as usual. "I'm… I'm so sorry…"

"For what?" he asked, grinning slightly, despite the obvious pain he was in. "You didn't do anything."

"It's just… this always happens to you… for no reason." She sniffed slightly, feeling her eyes water.

"Eh…" He closed his eyes. "I hate letting you see me like this…"

She looked up at him, unshed tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "What?"

"Can you help me to my room? I have bandages and stuff there."

Sakura nodded, wondering why he'd changed the subject so quickly, taking his free arm and putting it around her shoulders. He carefully stood up, leaning on her slightly. She staggered as his weight passed on to her. He was heavier then she thought. But she was determined to get him safely to his room, so she didn't say anything, helping him out of the room.

They actually got to his room rather fast, since he didn't have a limp or any bruises on his legs this time. He stopped her when they came to a door with a sign that said, 'DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT BEARING GIFTS' and opened it with his free hand. Sakura cast a glance around as she helped Ukon to the bed. It was a queen-sized bed, like Shizuka's, with dark lavender blankets and light lavender sheets. Next to it was a small night stand with a lamp, an alarm clock and a book called whose name Sakura couldn't exactly read. It was probably in German. The bed was set in the corner under the window' at the foot of the bed was a desk, with a lap top, a few pieces of paper, a whole mess of CD's, and a few framed pictures. Just out of reach of the door, which was western-style, was a tall dressed with a mess of random things on it, like hair things and buttons. In the other corner that wasn't taken up by the door, bed or desk was a CD player with huge speakers and a CD rack next to it. On the walls and ceiling were several posters of bands Ukon probably liked; among them, Sakura saw 'Coal Chamber' and 'Rammstien' glaring at her in cut-like letters.

"Sakura." Ukon pointed. "The bed."

"Oh! Sorry!" She helped him over to his bed, where he sat down carefully and started unbuttoning his shirt. "W-Where're you doing?" she stammered, blushing lightly.

"I got blood on it," he answered, taking it off. Sakura took a moment to stare at his curved shoulders, smooth stomach, and lightly-muscled build before he said, "Could you stop starring at my chest and get me a shirt out of the third drawer?"

"I wasn't starring," she muttered, going over to the dresser and opening the third drawer. All she saw where black shirts. "You're a Goth at heart, aren't you?" she asked, picking out a black T-shirt with a picture of a bleeding skull on it and bringing it to him.

"Why, yes, I am, how could you tell?" He pulled the shirt on over his head. "The First Aid kit is in my desk, if you could get it."

Sakura went over to the desk and found the First Aid kit in one of the drawers, hiding amongst some magazines (NOT porn, sickos). She brought it over to him. He took a small box labeled 'arnica' out and popped two in his mouth. "For bruising," he explained, putting the arnica back in the box. "It helps blood to clot."

Sakura's mouth formed a small 'o' of understanding as he started taking out wash clothes and a small basin. "Can you go to the bathroom and fill this up with warm water?" He held out the basin to her. He pointed to a door she hadn't noticed before, by the stereo system.

She nodded, going in the bathroom. Ukon's bathroom was a lot plainer then Shizuka's, with a shower stall, a sink, and all that other stuff. Even in here, however, he had posters and whatnot. Across the room from the door Sakura had come through was another door, but she didn't bother to think about that as she filled the basin up and brought it back to him.

"Lock the door," he ordered, clearing a space on his nightstand and setting the basin on it.

"Which one?"

"Both, please." He soaked one of the wash clothes in the water and started washing the blood off his face.

She went and locked the door to his room, as well as the bathroom door, then went back to see if he needed any help. He gave her a box of band aids and she nodded, taking a few out and applying them to the cuts on his face and neck while he washed the blood off his chin. When they were finished, he started treating his nosebleed, leaning his head back and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I hate nosebleeds," he told her, rather nasally. "It just feels weird."

"I never had one," she admitted.

"Yeah, right, you're the good little girl who never gets in fights?" He tossed her a look.

"I don't!"

He at her, surprised. "Really?"

Sakura paused for thought. "Well, there was that one time in kindergarten when Ino-pig tried to make Sasuke play with her instead of me, but—"

"You've had a crush on that dude for that long?" he interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

Sakura nodded, smiling dreamily, cupping her face in her hands as she thought of her darling Sasuke-kun. "Yeah…" she said in a dreamy voice.

Ukon bore a look of disgust. "Kill me now."

She gave him a look, recovering from her dreamy phase. "What? You've had girlfriends before, you know how we are!"

"None of my girlfriends were idiots."

Sakura gave him a look, then closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes, they were bright and shiny as she clasped her hands before her face. "You'll call me, right, Uk-kun?" she asked in a perfect imitation of Yamiko. "Oh, Uk-kun, I absolutely love your new hair length!" she continued, reaching out and petting his hair, which she found was silky and smooth under her touch. "It's so cool!"

"Ok, that's enough." He ducked under her hand. "So I had _one_ idiot girlfriend."

"Don't you mean 'have'?" Sakura asked huffily, sitting back on the floor, crossing her legs.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "No. 'Had'." He suddenly got a huge, silly grin on his face. "Oh, I see!" Ukon laughed, grinning hugely. "Is widdle Sakura-chan jealous of widdle ol' me?" he asked in a mocking, baby-voice.

Sakura blushed, resisting the urge to smack him. "No!" she snapped. "I-I wasn't… jealous…"

Ukon continued to sport the huge grin. "Uh-huh, sure you weren't."

"I wasn't!"

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't!"

"Were."

"Wasn't!"

"Were."

"Wasn't!"

"This is a rather pointless conversation, isn't it?"

**(Meanwhile)**

Shizuka raised an eyebrow as Sakura left the room. She looked down at the chocolate cosmos. "What's this for?"

"We all got flowers for you," Kimimaro explained, bestowing his own bouquet, as well as Ukon's flower, on her. "To make you feel better. It was Sakura's idea. The purple one is from Ukon."

"Thanks," Shizuka said, giving her 'brother' a smile.

Neji's eyebrow twitched. "What's with the hand?" he snapped as she held her hand out to him expectantly.

"You mean that's not for me?"

He rolled his eyes and tossed the carnations at her. "Fine. Here."

Shizuka gave him a sarcastic little grin while Kimimaro curled up into a ball at her side. She petted his white head absently, beckoning Neji to sit in the chair with her other hand. (They all just treat Kimimaro like he's their pet! Oh well… he's pretty lovable, I guess)

Neji sat down accordingly, looking around her room curiously, since he hadn't really gotten a good look at it the other day. "Oh, yeah," he said suddenly, remembering. He took a folder out of his book bag. "Iruka-sensei gave me your homework and class work to give you." He tossed the folder on her bed.

She looked at it in contempt. "Dammit," she muttered, picking it up and looking through it.

"I can help you today, though," Neji added when her expression instantly began to fall. "There's no soccer practice today or tomorrow."

Her face brightened slightly as she tossed the folder at him.

"Hey! I said I'd help you with it, not do it for you!"

"Shizuka-kun?" Orochimaru knocked on the door, pulling it open, his face set.

"Hi, Daddy." She smiled at him sweetly from the bed.

"Where were you this morning?" he asked in a would-be calm voice.

"Um… What?"

"I don't like you sneaking out without telling me," Orochimaru said. "I guess you're grounded now."

Shizuka's jaw dropped as he left. "What the fuck? How'd he find out?"

Neji nearly fell off his chair. "You mean you actually _were_ out?" he cried, recovering.

"Yeah, but only for about three hours." She groaned, pulling at her hair. "Aw, man… This sucks!"

"Ha ha, you're grounded," Neji said, pointing at her mockingly.

She turned to glare at him.

…_Shit._

**(Ukon's room)**

"Oh, this one, you'd like this one." Ukon clicked on a track on his play list on the lap top. He clicked "add to burn list."

Sakura looked over his shoulder where she was carefully washing the blood out of his hair with a washcloth. He was burning her a CD of all his favorite songs. She pointed to one of the tracks. "What about that one?"

He looked. "Oh, that's SR-71. Good band." He clicked on it. "It's called 'Non-Toxic'," he said as the music played. "You want it?" He clicked a little further down on the track so she could listen to the singing. At her nod, he added that to the 'burn list,' too. "Oh here, you gotta listen to this one." He clicked on a track called 'Toxicity.' "You cannot say you have lived until you listen to System of a Down." (That is so true)

Sakura actually thought it was a quiet song… until the music picked up.

Ukon turned to grin at her. "It's cool, isn't it?"

She nodded, deciding it would be better to just agree to everything he said. She didn't personally like very loud songs, but he'd been so excited to make her the CD that she'd let him just put any song he wanted on it. "There." She wiped the last of the blood out of his hair. "All clean."

"Thanks." He reached up to touch the now-clean hair. He added another song to the 'burn list.'

"What's that one?"

"A surprise," he answered, clicking the 'burn to CD' function. After it was finished, he took the CD out and got out a sharpie, writing 'Sakura's CD' in bold letters and popped it into a case, giving it to her. "You can listen to it when you get home."

She took it, smiling slightly as she looked down at it.

"What?" he asked when she was silent.

"…Why did Yamiko break up with you?" she asked, not looking at him. It had been bothering her, ever since Kimimaro had said Ukon hadn't told anyone why.

"Who says _she_ broke up with _me_?" he asked, after a few moments of silence.

"…Kimimaro."

"Oh." He scratched his chin, looking uncomfortable. "I guess I can tell you…"

"Why didn't you tell anyone else?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Ah…" He gave her a half-grin. "Because of the reason."

"Which was…?"

"Well, she would get scared whenever I was…" He thought for a moment. "…Hurt and she said the 'stress' was too much for her to handle, so she broke up with me before we moved."

Sakura's eyes widened. "So… that's why you couldn't tell anyone… because then they'd know, and Sakkon would…"

"Yeah."

"Then… She's a nasty bitch."

"Yeah, I guess that's accurate." He gave her a grin.

"I didn't think you went for the whiny kind of girl, though," she said casually, looking at one of the posters over top his bed, which showed a skeleton holding a cigarette and a vodka shot with the words 'NAME YOUR POISON' under it.

"I don't," he said huffily. "She was pretty, and nice, and made me feel good about myself. That's all."

"So you _used_ her?"

"No!" he snapped quickly. "I really did like her!"

Sakura just raised an eyebrow.

"I'm serious!"

(**Speaking of all that mushy girlfriend stuff…**) "What's L-I-E-B-E mean? In German?" Sakura asked.

"Liebe?" he repeated. "It means 'love'. Why?"

She shook her head. "No reason. Kimimaro and I were playing with his hand-held and that word came up." _Ich denke, dass ich Sie liebe_… _Then… if Kimimaro's translation was right… it means 'I think I love you'… _Sakura's eyes widened. _Oh my god! _She turned to stare at Ukon, who was still talking.

"Oh. Yeah, it means 'love'. And 'Ich liebe Sie' means 'I love you'." He shrugged, holding his hands up casually. "Es ist einfach."

"What's that mean?"

"'It's simple'."

"Not if you don't know the language, it isn't!"

"Es ist nicht mein Fehler, den Sie dumm sind." (T: It's not my fault you're stupid.)

"Stop that!"

"Halten Sie was auf?" he asked innocently. (T: Stop doing what?)

"That!"

"Was?" (T: What?)

"That!"

"Was?" (T: What?)

"Ukon!"

"Ja?"

"I will smack you if you do not stop!"

"Ich möchte sehen, dass Sie versuchen." (T: I would like to see you try.)

"I will!" she cried, beginning to understand the meaning.

"Warum breche ich Ihr Gesicht nicht?" (T: Why don't I break your face?)

"What?"

Ukon sighed. "Sie sprechen kein Wort des Deutsch." (T: You don't speak a word of German.) "Ok, I'll stop."

"But what did you say?"

"Nothing."

"You insulted me, didn't you?"

"No."

"Did you?"

"No."

"I'm serious, Ukon, did you insult me?"

"No."

Sakura was interrupted by someone calling from the other side of the bathroom door. "Knock-knock. Who's there? Why, it's Ukon's bestest baby brother, Sakkon, returning the CD he borrowed! Oh, ok, come on in, baby brother! Ok, I will!"

The door knob rattled.

"Why the fuck is the door locked?" Sakkon shouted, rattling the knob again.

"Oh, sorry." Ukon grinned, going over to the bathroom door and unlocking it. "When are you going to stop answering the door for yourself?" he asked his little brother, stepping aside so Sakkon could come in. "I could be buck naked for all you know."

Sakkon scoffed. "Please. It's not like you look any different then me."

"Idiot," Ukon muttered, taking the CD Sakkon held out.

Sakkon noticed Sakura standing by Ukon's desk and frowned. "What's she doing in here?" he asked, pointing.

"Huh?" Ukon glanced at Sakura. "Nothing."

"What happened to your face?" Sakkon asked, noticing the band aids.

"Oh, I opened the window to let some air in and the tree branch came and hit me in the face," Ukon answered at once, pointing to his window, where a tree branch was pressed against the glass.

"Clutz."

"Oh, go do your homework, kiddie," Ukon said, feigning annoyance as he pushed the amused Sakkon back into the bathroom and closing the door. Turning back to Sakura, he explained, "The other door leads to his room."

"Oh." Sakura shrugged. "I don't think he likes me very much."

"Ah, don't mind him, he doesn't like anyone." He waved it off. "Plus, he's an idiot, if he can't see you're pretty cool in your own twisted way."

She sweat-dropped. "I guess I should take that as a compliment." She glanced at the clock on his lap top. _Wow I've been here for a while… _"I should go see Shizuka," she said hesitantly. She liked hanging out with Ukon, but Shizuka might think something was wrong if she took so long on a 'trip to the bathroom'.

Ukon nodded lightly. "Yeah, ok. Her door's five down from mine." He followed her to the door. "If you can't find it, just come on back here, ok?" he added, opening the door.

"Ok—ACK!" She yelped as a grey blur sped into the room.

"Kamikaze!" Ukon cried, going over to his bed and picking up the grey cat where it sat on his bed. "This is my cat," he explained, turning to show the feline to the temporarily traumatized Sakura. "He has twenty-one toes. Say hi to Sakura, Kamikaze," he said, making the cat's many-toed paw wave at Sakura.

"That is a seriously fat cat," she said, going over to pet the kitty.

"No, he's not, he's just well-fed and well-rounded," he corrected, feigning offense.

"Uh-huh, sure." Sakura rolled her eyes, going over to the door. "See you later, Ukon."

"Say bye to the mean lady, Kamikaze," Ukon said in a purposely loud voice as she left.

Sakura found Shizuka's door with ease, even without Ukon's directions, since it was the only door in the whole house with a 'NO SOLICITORS' sign. When she opened the door, she found Kimimaro asleep with his head on Shizuka's knee while Shizuka and Neji worked on verb charts and conjugating.

"He was pretty lonely today," Sakura said quietly, so as not to wake Kimimaro.

"Yeah, Neji told me you took care of him, thanks," Shizuka said in a quiet voice, as well, smiling gratefully.

"What is he, a pet?" Neji rolled his eyes.

"Duh!" both girls said at once.

Neji rolled his eyes again as Kidoumaru and Tayuya suddenly burst in. "Shizuka-sama, are you seriously grounded?" Kidoumaru asked, grinning; he wasn't wearing his trench coat for once.

Shizuka glared. "Yes. Now get out of my room."

Sakura's eyes widened as Kidoumaru lifted not one set, but _three sets_ of arms defensively. "Sorry, Shizuka-sama," he said, grinning still as he and Tayuya turned to the door.

"W-W-W-Wait just a second!" Sakura cried, finally finding her voice.

Kidoumaru and Tayuya turned to look at her. "What?"

"Those…Those arms…" Sakura pointed to Kidoumaru's six arms.

"What about them?"

"Can you actually use them all?" she asked, her eyes still wide. So _that_ was why he wore the trench coat; to hide the extra sets of arms.

Kidoumaru nodded, grinning slightly as he lifted all six, the top two to go behind his head, the bottom two to go on his waist and the middle two to wave at her. "Sure, I can."

Sakura gasped, looking amazed. "That's so cool!" she cried, running over to touch the spot where the arms met at his shoulder.

"Eh, get off." He shrugged her off, looking slightly bored with the attention as he and Tayuya left.

Sakura turned and grinned at Shizuka, who was smirking with amusement. "He has six arms!"

"_Really?_" Shizuka cried, pretending to be shocked out of her mind. "Neji, did _you_ know that?"

He shrugged lightly. "It came as a bit of a shock, yes."

Shizuka looked around absently. "What's today?"

"Today?" Neji thought for a moment or so. "Um… Friday, I think."

"Hnn." Shizuka turned to Sakura. "Can you spend the night tomorrow? You're fun to talk to at unearthly hours."

Sakura shrugged. "I'd have to ask my mom about it this time. But I'm sure she said yes if she actually _met_ your dad…"

Shizuka shrugged. "I don't see why you go to all this precaution. I never have to ask my dad's permission, so long as I have one of the five with me."

Sakura rolled her eyes at this lack of authority. She had already discerned that "the five" meant Kidoumaru, Tayuya, Jiroubou and the twins. However, she thought it was kind of odd that someone as obviously tightly wined as Orochimaru would let his only daughter go where she pleased with just a few teenagers as guardian.

"Oh yeah, by the way…. Tomorrow is the twin's birthday," Shizuka said randomly, filling out one of the verb charts under Neji's instruction. "In case you care."

Sakura looked up, eyes wide. "Huh? It is?"

Shizuka nodded. "They're turning eighteen."

"…I thought they already were eighteen."

"They're seventeen, but it was so close to their birthday that we all just rounded up the numbers."

"Are you guys going to do anything for them?" Neji asked.

"Nah. They told us to stop taking them out to dinner when they turned sixteen." Shizuka shrugged. "They told us to just send cash."

Sakura ended up thinking about the twin's birthday all during her visit with Shizuka. She wanted to do something special for the twins… something that would make Sakkon be nice to her, and make Ukon think…

Wait… what _did_ she want to make Ukon think? He was her friend… sort of… and she wanted to do something nice for her friend…

…Who just so happened to think he was in _love_ with her.

_Oh god, things weren't this complicated in Middle School!_ she thought, starring out the window of the car. Ukon was driving her home, with Kimimaro and Neji in the back seat. She refused to look at the lavender-haired boy sitting next to her… she knew she'd break out in a furious blush if she did.

"First stop, Hanuro residence," Ukon said, pulling into Sakura's driveway. "Home of the pink-haired freshmen and sexy mothers."

Sakura tossed him a glare, opening the car door and getting out. "Ha ha ha, shut up," she snapped, closing the door and turning away before he could see her blush.

She turned as the car pulled away, Kimimaro waving shyly at her back through the back window. She smiled and returned the wave, then turned to her porch. She raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke-kun?"

The youngest Uchiha looked up from where he was sitting on her porch steps, waiting for her. "Sakura."

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

He gestured to Ukon's car as it disappeared around the corner. "You went over Shizuka's house again?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I've been going over there pretty much every day."

"I don't think you should."

She starred. "Huh?"

"Those… people. They're dangerous."

Sakura couldn't help but agree, thinking of Orochimaru, but she argued anyway. "I don't think they're that bad. They—"

"I don't want you to go over there anymore."

She gawked. "Wha…?"

"It's dangerous for you to go over there." He looked up at her again, his dark, onyx eyes boring through her.

"Well, ex_cuse_ me," she said through a scoff, "but I think I'm quite old enough to take care of myself!"

Her eyes widened as, quite suddenly, he was in front of her, his long, nimble arms going around her shoulders, crushing her gently against his chest.

"I don't want you to be in danger…" he said softly. "I… I want to protect you… so you'll be safe…"

Sakura's went bug-eyed. _Nani! What the hell is he saying? _Then, slowly, it registered with her exactly what he was saying. _Oh my god… Sasuke-kun… I've waited so long to hear you say that…_

**Flashback**

"_It means 'love'. And 'Ich liebe Sie' means 'I love you'."_

**End flashback**

Sakura's eyes relaxed into a pained expression at the sudden flashback. _But… what about Ukon…?_

It was Sasuke's turn to let his eyes widen as, slowly, Sakura pushed him away. "I'm sorry… Sasuke…" she said softly, starring at the ground. "But… I think I already have someone…"

Sasuke continued to stare at her as, slowly, she went into her house and closed the door. His expression saddened slightly. _So… it's just Sasuke now?_

Sakura closed the door and leaned against it, sliding down it until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face in them as tears started pouring down her cheeks. _Sasuke…_ she sobbed inside. _I'm so… so sorry…_

She got up, tears still pouring down her cheeks, and went over to the phone. _I need to talk about this,_ she thought, looking at the address book next to the phone. _If I talk about it, I'll feel all better…_

Her streaming eyes widened as she remembered something, and, reaching into her book bag, she extracted a folded piece of paper with some writing on it.

**(Shizuka's House/Manor/Gang-head quarters)**

Kimimaro jumped slightly when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Shizuka looked up from where she was reading a manga. He quickly pulled the device out and looked at it.

"Who is it?" she asked curiously.

"It's… Sakura…" He received the call. "Hello? Sakura?"

He was greeted with a few soft sniffles. "Kimimaro?"

Kimimaro's eyes widened. "Sakura, are you crying?" Shizuka's head shot up at this. "Are you ok?"

Snif-snif. "No…" And so, for the second time that day, Sakura, sobbing hysterically, poured out all her troubles and sadness to Kimimaro, who just sat there on Shizuka's floor, holding the cell phone to his ear and looking dumbfounded. Somewhere in the mix, he caught on to the fact that 'liebe' meant love, which meant that Ukon thought he loved her, and that Sasuke wanted to protect her _from_ Ukon and that she had told Sasuke she 'had someone else' and that she really wished she'd get her period so she'd stop having hormone swings. "Thanks for listening, Kimi-kun," she said in a relieved voice. "I'm glad we had this talk."

"Um… sure…" Kimimaro turned the phone off and pocketed it.

"What was that all about?" Shizuka asked.

"I have no idea."

* * *

Sigh… review responses. 

**Dragonman180: **Um… you're supposed to hate her. She's a slimy bitch. But yeah, it's kind of slutty of her to dump her and then beg for him back… Of course I will make the Naruto/Hinata pairing work! Duh! Have I ever paired them up differently? And damn you for voting for a whole triangle! D A M N Y O U !

**HinatasBiggestFanBoy: **…Why yes, yes it does mean 'love.' How'd you guess?

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin: **Eh… sorry if this chap disappointed you at all… What can I say? Ukon is just so pathetic when he's beat up, and Sakura just has to help him… As for the Orochimaru thing…. Yeah, sorry if I disappointed you. Don't worry, it'll get funny soon.

**Kie-san: **I (heart) guys like Kimi! I do! I love 'em to death! He's so shy and everything… Basically every girl's best friend. Yamiko wasn't that important in ANTR… she was Kankurou's friend… the one who wasn't his friend afterwards because he was related to Gaara. Yeah. We don't like her. I sent you the piccies, hope you like them!

**Active-heart: **I'm glad you liked it. Lee is awesome!

**Joann: **I read that fic… I know it sounded similar, but before I posted the first chapter of this, I e-mailed Ms. Hyuga and asked her if it would be ok if I just like… did something like that and she said it was fine. So don't sue! Onegai?

**Riiight: **Neji doesn't have the balls to say something like that, no da. I'm glad you liked it tho!

**Mika: **I like the Kimi-Tayu pairing too! However…. I thought his crush on Ino would be cute… ah well.

**xl-twisted-lx: **..You need to stop threatening me. And here you go… update took about four days, hopefully that was fast enough.

**Sten:** Non-reviewing meanie! Lol, j/k. I'm glad you liked it! (feels happy that this fic was worthy of a review)

**KageNoKatana: **You gonna hafta read and find out, missie! (waves to Shukaku) Bai bai!

**Riyo Shiban: **Lol I'm learning German too, just from writing this… I'm glad you liked it!

**Inusaiyan: **Lol yes, mucha dilemma. But it's so fun to torture people, I can't help myself! And… I think Ukon is having a bit more luck in the women department now…


	9. Wenn Nur Sie Gewusst Haben

**Crimson Love

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**

Yay! Ninth chapter, baby! Hell yeah! 104 reviews! As promised, I will no longer beg for reviews… but it would be nice if I got some feed back, yeah?

Ok let's see… I had stuff I wanted to tell you people… what was it? Oh yeah.

1. CHAPTER TRANSLATIONS! I am sooo sorry! I forgot you people don't know German! Lol. Ok, let's see…

-Chapter Six: The Lonely and the Fatherless

-Chapter Eight: Ukon's Feelings

I'll try and remember to translate them!

2. _Apprentice_ fans! Hello! Ahem. Guess what? I got really bored last night, so I decided to… (Drum roll, please) …write an A.A.A.! Uh… That means _Absurdly Appalling Apprentices_, if you aren't sure. It's basically the O.A.V. for _Apprentice_… Hee hee! It'll be posted as chapter 29 of _Apprentice_ sometime… Well I don't know when. Oh well.

Uh… yeah, I'll get on with the fic now.

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**Chapter Nine: Wenn Nur Sie Gewusst Haben**

**T: If Only You Knew

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**

"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter like unrequited love." –Charlie Brown, _Peanuts

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_

**(Skipping back a ways, to when Neji, Kimimaro and Ukon were alone in the car)**

"What was with that flower, Kimimaro-sama?" Ukon asked, glancing into the rear-view mirror at Kimimaro.

Kimimaro shrugged, blushing slightly. "I thought she would like it…"

"You _do_ know that she's about as in love with Uchiha as Sakura is, right?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow. He missed the death glare Ukon threw him.

Kimimaro nodded sadly. "I know… I just thought if I was nice enough to her, she might be my friend, at least…"

Ukon cast Kimimaro a sympathetic look while Neji assumed a thoughtful expression, starring out the window. Neither of the other two noticed his sudden silence, since he hardly ever spoke, so they didn't comment.

**(Meanwhile)**

Shizuka rubbed her throat slightly, sweating under the pile of blankets Kimimaro (under the impression that she actually had gotten sick) had insisted she stay under while he was gone. She scowled at her black mane, since it was the main reason for why she was so damn sweaty.

"I should just hack you off," she told her hair. "Then I wouldn't be so hot all the time."

"Oh, don't do that. Your hair is so pretty."

Shizuka yelped, jumping halfway out of her skin, and whipped around. "Itachi!" she hissed angrily.

He smirked where he was sitting in her chair. "The one and only."

"Don't you know how to _knock_?"

"Oh, sorry." He rapped his knuckles on the window pane. "Hello, its Itachi, may I come in? Why, thank you, I will."

She rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Now, is that any way to talk to the guy who just spent roughly eighteen million yen on you?"

Shizuka just scowled. "Maybe if you were a little more friendly and a little less creepy, I would be more inclined to be friendly to you, hmm?"

"Creepy, is it?"

"Sha!" She looked at him like he was crazy. "You don't think it's creepy that you just randomly appear in my room?"

He shook his head, the smirk persisting.

"…Don't you ever just smile instead of smirking?"

"What, like this?" He made a face not unlike the one little Ukon and Sakkon were making in the picture above Shizuka's bed.

Shizuka sweat-dropped. "That's just psycho. Weren't you just here a few minutes ago?"

"And hour ago."

"…You counted."

"Of course."

Shizuka repressed the urge to gulp. _This guy just went from nice and sweet and slightly psycho to stalker and overly-assertive and very psycho in a matter of an hour…_

**(Meanwhile)**

Neji waved to Ukon and Kimimaro as he went into the Hyuuga estate, still frowning slightly. Kimimaro's words were still confusing him…

"_I just thought if I was nice enough to her, she might be my friend, at least…" _

Now, as we all have probably discovered by now, Neji is not the best at sorting out emotions. So, like any other guy who is totally helpless with that, he had to ask… someone… who knew something about emotions. For Neji, that narrowed it down to one person.

"Hinata?" He knocked on her door.

No answer.

"…Hinata?" He knocked a little louder.

Still no answer.

He frowned, opening the door. "Hinata?" He looked around. _Damn… where is she?_

Still frowning slightly, he went down the hall for about ten minutes until he came to a gym. Sure enough, inside he found his younger cousin, attempting to beat the crap out of a punching bag.

"Hinata," he said, to announce his presence.

She yelped softly and turned around. "N-Neji-nii-san?"

"You still like Naruto, right, Hinata?"

She looked a little confused. "Um… Yes…"

"So how would you show him you like him?"

She turned beet red. "I-I try to be nice to him so he will be nice to me, maybe…?"

Neji's frown deepened slightly, and he left the gym, leaving a very confused Hinata. _So, Hinata and Kimimaro are the same… they're both unnaturally nice to the people they admire, even if said person is too thick… or Sasuke-obsessed… to notice…_

_So, how does this relate to me? _His frown turning into a look of confusion, he went upstairs to his room.

**(Present time)**

Sakura sniffed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve as she set the phone down. "Mom?" she called, going over to the stairs.

"Up here, honey."

She went upstairs, already bracing herself to get yelled at, after she said what she wanted to say. She found her mom in the master bedroom, ironing clothes. "Um… Mom?"

"Yes, honey?" She turned to look at Sakura. "Were you crying?"

Sakura shook her head, wiping her eyes again. "Some dust got in my eye. We should dust soon."

"You're right. What do you think of this outfit?" Her mother held up the black woman's slacks and one button-down shirt she was ironing.

"For what?" Sakura asked curiously, wondering why her mom would want to get all fancy.

"A date," her mom answered casually, going back to ironing the slacks.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "A _date_?"

"Yes."

"With a _man_?"

"Yes."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Wow, mom."

"What? Can't I go on dates?" Her mother gave her a mock look of anger.

"Well… actually…" Sakura tried to turn it into a joke, too, but found she couldn't. _Mom hasn't been on hardly any dates since dad… yeah. This is gonna be uncomfortable._

"What did you want, sweetie pie?"

"Huh?" Sakura looked at her bluntly.

"Didn't you want something?"

"…Oh yeah! Um, Shizuka wants to know if I can spend the night on Saturday…" Sakura visibly backed away from her mom, waiting for the storm to erupt.

Her mother actually _thought_ about it for a few minutes. "I suppose… that would be ok…"

Sakura starred at her, wondering who this woman was, and what she was doing with her mother.

"…As long as I'm allowed to drive you home," her mother ended. "My date is tomorrow, so, hopefully, you can have one of those cute twin boys pick you up." Her mom winked at Sakura.

"…..Ok, who are you, you demon, and what have you done with my mom's soul? And… cute?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I'm right here, honey," her mom said with a smile. "And didn't you think those little boys were all cute?"

"Uh—"

"My, my, little Sakura attracts all the cute ones, doesn't she?" Her mom smiled to herself while she ironed the shirt. "Kind of like that little Sasuke. When are you gonna bring his cute butt home?"

_Well… technically, I already did… _"Hey, mom, it's after the fact, now, but what would you do if one guy who you like _hanging out with _kind of tells you he thinks he loves you—"

"Kind of?" Her mom raised an eyebrow.

"Hear me out. He tells you he thinks he loves you, and then someone who you've liked for a really long time but who was hardly ever nice to you suddenly shows up and wants to… protect you?" she ended lamely.

"Aww… Little Sakura really is all grown up!" her mom crooned.

"Mom!"

"Sorry, sorry…" Her mom sighed, deep in thought. After a few moments of silence, she finally said, "I can't really help you with that, Sakura… Only you can choose who you would be happier with." She gave Sakura an understanding smile.

Sakura sighed. "Great. The one time I need your help…" She gave her mom a mock glare. "Oh yeah," she said suddenly, remembering the twins' birthday. "I need to go to the mall tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. It's those 'cute little twins' eighteenth birthday tomorrow and I want to get them something."

**(A little later, but at a different place)**

"Are you sure you're ok, Shizuka?" Kimimaro asked, poking his head in her door.

Shizuka nodded hurriedly. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm really hungry…"

"I'll go get you some soup!" Kimimaro said at once, closing the door.

After the door was safely closed, Itachi sat up, throwing the covers off himself where he had been laying dead-still next to Shizuka. Taking a huge breath of life, he turned to smirk at her. "Was I nice and still?"

"You shouldn't be here at all!" she hissed, pushing him out of the bed. "Go! I'm already grounded! I can't have gangsters in my room!"

"Po-po, 'Zuka."

"My name is not 'Zuka', its _Shi_zuka, now go away!" She continued trying to push him. "Actually, to add onto my previous thought, I can't have an _insane_ gangster in my room!"

"'There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason behind the madness'," Itachi quoted.

"'When love is in excess, it brings a man neither honor nor any worthiness'," she countered, finally succeeding in pushing him off the bed.

"You certainly didn't think that when you maxed out six of my credit cards."

"My ideals change every time I blink."

"Well, let's take those sunglasses off, so I can have a fair warning." He sat up and reached for her sunglasses.

**-oOo-**

"Hold still," Sasuke told his brother, slapping a balm on Itachi's cheek.

Itachi grimaced and rubbed his cheek. "Tell me, why do all the pretty ones have to be insane?"

**(The next day, Sakura's house)**

Sakura sat back, looking at the completed work of art before her with a sense of pride. She'd spent an hour and a half working on them, so she had reason to be rather proud and pleased with herself.

What were they, you ask?

Birthday cards.

But not just _any_ birthday cards, mind. Oh, no. These were _special_ birthday cards.

They had _sequins._

And _sparkles._

And she had made them with very nice, dark purple construction paper and used light purple construction paper for the letters. Everything about the cards was purple, or lavender. She had even gone through all the sequins and picked out only the purple ones.

Why is she going to such lengths? Well, it's quite simple.

Today was the twins' eighteenth birthday.

Now, Sakura had started out just making a card for Ukon, since she'd heard him say he liked "homemade shit" better then that "store crap". But she didn't want Sakkon to feel left out, so she made him one, too.

As everyone knows, getting just a card for ones birthday, no matter how sparkly, is pretty lame. A present or a gift card or cash usually accompanies said card. But Sakura had taken it to the next level.

She'd gotten plush toys.

She'd gotten Ukon a plush cat that resembled his cat, Kamikaze, and she'd gotten Sakkon a panda. However, after much thought and deliberation, she decided a panda was a pretty piss-pants present for someone like Sakkon. So, she had taken her hand at sewing and spruced it up a bit.

Of course, 'spruced up a bit' for Sakura when she was high on sugar and Inner-Sakura had seventy-four percent control over her thoughts meant that the gentle giant of the Chinese bamboo forest now had blood-shot eyes and bloody fangs and claws.

Sakura put each twin's respective card in their respective plush toys' claws and gave each toy a pat on the head before going to pack; Ukon was coming in ten minutes to pick her up for another one of Shizuka's two-person sleepovers. (Kimimaro would be present this time, however.)

After she'd packed everything she needed, she carefully put the two toys in a separate duffle bag and zipped it up. She ran downstairs when the doorbell rang.

"Ready to go?" Ukon asked, pocketing his keys. Sakura took a split second to look at him; he looked around different when he wasn't wearing his school uniform. Instead, he wore baggy black pants, black shoes and a black T-shirt with a long-sleeved grey shirt underneath.

"Just a sec." She ran back upstairs.

He shrugged, looking around. When one entered the Hanuro household, one was immediately faced with a staircase going upstairs. To the left of the staircase was a door going into a dining room. To the right was the living room of the Hanuro household; he hadn't really gotten a good look at it the night he was there, so he went to explore. It was a very neatly-set room, with a nice, lived-in quality. When one entered the room, to the left wall was the sofa Sakura had bandaged him on. On the wall next to the door was a plush chair that looked extremely comfortable, so Ukon sat in it to look around. There was a large TV, as well, with a DVD rack next to it. On the wall across from the chair, he spotted a table with some framed pictures on it, so he got up to look.

These pictures featured, mainly, a pink-haired child with huge green eyes, laughing at the camera. Now, of course, the child was Sakura, since she was an only child. And, of course, everyone knows Sakura is the cutest little kid in _Naruto_, so Ukon couldn't help but smirk a little. _Damn, Sakura. _"Hmph."

"Ukon?" she called from the top of the steps.

"Yeah?" He went to stand at the bottom of the steps.

"Catch!"

"Huh—Oof!" He staggered under the weight of the large (heavy) sports bag she threw down to him. "What the f—"

Instantly: "Catch again!"

"Huh—WAHH!" He fell over under the weight of a second bag she threw down at him. "Just exactly how long are you planning on staying?" she asked as she skipped down the stairs with a small duffle bag over her shoulder.

"Just for tonight," she said, giving him a blank look.

"Then what the h—"

"Oh, before I forget…" She knelt down next to him and unzipped her duffle bag.

Ukon watched curiously while she rummaged around in it until she extracted a grey plush cat holding a card.

"Happy birthday, Ukon!" she said with a huge grin, holding the present out to him.

His eyes widened as he looked at it. "For… me?" he finally managed, pointing to himself.

She rolled her eyes. "No, the _other_ Ukon sitting right next to you. Of course it's for you!" she cried, shoving it in his hands.

"Ah—Dah—uh—my—you—this—"

"Do you hear yourself when you speak?"

He stopped stammering, pulling the card out of the cat's paws and opening it. "Sparkles," he said, pointing to the glittery lettering.

She nodded. "Yes. Good job."

"Uh… thanks," he said finally, looking up at her.

She smiled at him. "You're welcome. Birthday hug!" she cried, throwing her arms around him and giving him a big bear hug. She felt him pat her head in response. She let go of him and reached into her duffle bag. "This is for Sakkon. I don't think he'd take it from me."

Ukon sweat-dropped. "Oh, I see. I get a cute little kitty and he gets a killer panda."

"And?"

He tossed her a look as he carried her stuff out to his car and put it in the back of the truck. When he got back in the car, he rolled his eyes when he saw her seat belting the plush cat in the seat between them. When all three of them were seat belted and ready to go, he pulled out of the Hanuro driveway and started towards Shizuka's house (Which was actually his house, too).

"Hey, Sakura," Ukon said after a few minutes of silence during which Sakura watched street lamps roll by.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to hang out sometime?" he asked carefully, keeping his eyes on the road. "…Just the two of us?"

Sakura starred at him for a few minutes. "Is this like a date?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that."

(**HOLY SHIT!**)

"So anyway, so you don't feel uncomfortable," he continued, "all of us are going to an ice-skating rink tomorrow after breakfast, if you wanted to go with me."

Sakura smiled. "Sure!"

He turned to look at her, eyes wide, with a huge, delighted grin on. "_Really_?"

She nodded, grinning as well. "Sure! But I can't really skate…"

"That's ok, I can help you."

"You can skate?"

"Ja."

She gave him a look.

"What? I can! Oh, wait, it's the German, isn't it? 'Yes, I can skate.' There."

"Is there anything you _can't _do?" she asked critically. "I mean…" She started ticking things off on her fingers. "You speak German. You're a pretty good shot. You skate. You sing—"

"I can't sing," he corrected, as if the suggestion were appalling.

"Sure you can, I've heard you singing along with your Rammstien and your Coal Chamber."

"…Ok, I can sing a little."

"Back to the original question, is there anything you _can't_ do?"

He shrugged. "I can't whistle." He went through the motions of whistling, but only a few sputters of saliva and air came out. "Siehe? Ich kann nicht pfeifen." (T: See? I can't whistle.)

Sakura couldn't help but smile at him a little when he couldn't see, as he put in a CD and cranked the volume. She looked out the window. _Silly man… Can't even whistle. _She stole a glance at him as he sang along with Breaking Point's 'One of a Kind.' _So… I guess… he's sort of my boyfriend now…_ Which, she realized, wasn't at all bad. She'd never gotten bored hanging out with Ukon. He always had something funny or interesting to say. And the fact that he had given her flowers (and pink ones, at that) had not gone unnoticed. And sure, he had his moody spells, but he always (sometimes) went to an effort to be nice to her.

_Plus,_ she thought, remembering the comfortableness of hugging him, _he's nice to hug._

**(When they got to Shizuka's house)**

"Shizuka-sama is in her room," Ukon told Sakura, giving her her bags. "I have a meeting with Orochimaru-sama." When he caught the worried look she gave him, he added, "For business. Not Shizuka-sama's recent boyfriend activities." He gave her a quick hug. "But I might stop by later."

"Ok." She hugged him back then headed towards Shizuka's room, trying to ignore the bubbly, butter-fly feeling she'd gotten when Ukon had hugged her.

Kimimaro opened the door to Shizuka's room, grinning slightly. "Hi, Sakura."

"Hi, Kimimaro," Sakura said, smiling, as she went in. Shizuka, who was on the phone, gave her a wave from the chair before going back to her conversation. "Who's she talking to?" Sakura asked Kimimaro, setting down her bags.

"Neji," Kimimaro answered. "They've been arguing since lunch."

"About what?"

"Well, it started out as Shizuka asking him to go ice-skating with us tomorrow morning, then they started talking about the Olympics, which led to an argument about female and male ice-skaters, which led to an argument about boys and girls in general, which led to an argument about their different preferences, which led to an argument about online Instant Messaging, which led to an argument about changing the subject, which led to the present argument about being grounded." Kimimaro shrugged, going back to his _Zelda _game.

"Dang." Sakura sat next to Kimimaro, watching the game but also watching Shizuka, who was arguing in a very animated way, making violent hand gestures in mid-air.

"She had him on speaker-phone around two o'clock," Kimimaro said with a sigh. "It was amusing, but pretty weird at the same time."

"Hey, Shizuka, put him on speaker-phone," Sakura said, grinning.

Shizuka stopped making violent strangling motions to press a button on the phone.

"—your own fault for getting yourself… Why is this echoing?" Neji's voice asked.

"Hey, Neji," Sakura called.

"Sakura? When did I start talking to _you_?"

"You're on speaker again, idiot," Shizuka answered, setting the phone on her night stand, so they call could talk in it.

"Oh. Hey, Sakura."

"You do realize you've been on the phone for seven hours, right?" Sakura asked.

"…Henh?" There was a pause. "Wow. Seven fifteen. What's your point?"

"Die, evil raping mummies!" Kimimaro suddenly shouted, clicking furiously on the controller.

"…Right, so anyway, are you going ice-skating with us tomorrow?" Sakura asked Neji.

"You're going too?" Neji asked.

"Ukon invited me," Sakura answered, the butterfly-feeling returning.

"Oh, really?" Shizuka and Neji said together. Shizuka raised an eyebrow at Sakura.

Sakura nodded as she blushed the lightest of pink. "Yes, really."

"Sakura has a boyfriend, Sakura has a boyfriend," Neji said in a singsong, taunting voice.

"And the closet thing you've had to a girlfriend in fifteen years was your mother, so leave me alone," Sakura countered. "Oh, and TenTen."

"Who's TenTen?" Shizuka asked curiously.

"This girl he's known as long as Iruka-sensei," Sakura answered with a shrug. "She's had a big crush on him that long, too."

"Shut up! No she hasn't!" Neji snapped at once. "She isn't even my friend! She's just been following me for forever!"

"Uh-huh, sure." Sakura rolled her eyes. "And calls you every week end, and makes you cookies on your birthday, and still has your old black hoodie—"

"_She's_ the one who took it? I've been looking for that forever."

"I love watching old friends argue," Shizuka confided to Kimimaro. "They tend to bring up old problems." While Sakura and Neji argued, she got out a photo album from under her bed and started looking through it. Kimimaro stopped his game to squeeze in next to her in the chair and turn pages. "Aww… Baby twins!"

"Huh?" Sakura stopped arguing to look at the photo album. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Sure enough, there was a picture of two identical babies with huge, black-blue eyes and light hair. The twins had been laying on a bed, on their backs, when the picture was taken, holding each other's hands and sucking their thumbs with their free hands. "Aww..."

"I wanna see!" Neji cried from the other end of the phone.

"And here's baby Kimi-kun." Shizuka pointed to a picture of a white-haired baby with his foot in his mouth, sucking on his toes.

"You were so cute, Kimimaro!" Sakura cried.

"I want to see!" Neji shouted.

"And there's Shizuka-baby." Kimimaro pointed to a black-haired baby playing peek-a-boo with a four-year-old Ukon or Sakkon, her chubby hands over her eyes, grinning hugely.

"Aww!" Sakura pet the picture. "So cute!"

"I want to see!"

"And there are all of us playing with the sprinkler." Shizuka pointed to a picture of the seven of them (Kimimaro, Shizuka, Kidoumaru, Tayuya, Jiroubou and twins) running through a sprinkler. The five older ones couldn't have been more then four or five; Kidoumaru had a tiny little ponytail on top of his head, six chubby arms flaying as he ran through the sprinkler, followed by Tayuya, who looked like she was trying to tackle him. Jiroubou sat to the side, eating a bag of chips, though he was wearing a swim suit. Ukon-in-the-picture had baby Shizuka on his back piggy-back style and Sakkon, who was holding Ukon's hand, had Kimimaro on his back.

"You all are so cute!" Sakura squealed.

"I—WANT—TO—SEE!" Neji shouted; they heard a banging on the other end of the phone line as he banged the phone on the desk to get their attentions.

They looked up when the door creaked open, pushed open by Kamikaze's nose as he sauntered into the room like he owned the place. They watched him in silence as he crossed the room towards them and jumped onto Sakura's lap, curling into a sleeping position.

"Anyway," Shizuka said, breaking the silence. They all turned back to the photo album as she turned the page. "Aw! Twins' sixth birthday!"

"You enjoy torturing me, don't you?" Neji said in a hurt voice.

"You can see them tomorrow," Shizuka reassured him, "if you bring some of your baby pictures."

They heard him grumble for a while. "Fine. I'll bring an album over."

"Yay!" Shizuka grinned hugely.

"Yeah, yeah… I got to go, Hiashi-oji-san says to stop maxing the phone bill and come to dinner."

"Ok, call me afterwards, we have an argument to finish."

"Sure."

There was a pause.

"So hang up," Shizuka said, looking at the phone.

"_You_ called _me. _You hang up."

"I did not call you!" she cried.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did," Kimimaro said.

Shizuka thought about it. Her eyes widened. "Holy crap, I did!"

"No shit." Sakura could almost see Neji's eyes roll. "Hang up."

"Ok, fine, but you have to hang up next time."

"Yeah, yeah."

Shizuka rolled her eyes, hanging up the phone. "Was I right?" she asked Kimimaro.

"No."

**(An hour or so later)**

Ukon stopped dead in the door way to Shizuka's room. "What's that?" he asked cautiously, pointing at the photo album.

"What's _that_?" Shizuka asked critically, pointing to the plush cat Ukon had under one arm.

He looked down at it, then glared defiantly at Shizuka. "My birthday present from Sakura. Got a problem with it?"

Shizuka raised an eyebrow but shook her head as Sakkon shouldered past his twin.

"_I_ got a panda," Sakkon said proudly, holding up the deadly panda.

Ukon: ELBOW!

"Ow!" Sakkon glared.

Ukon glared back.

Sakkon rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Sakura," he said in a monotone.

"You're welcome," she said with a small smile, even though it was obvious he hadn't meant to say thank you. (**And after we put all that time and effort into his present! We spent more on his then we did on Ukon's! DAMN HIS UNGRATEFULLNESS!**)

"Is Neji going tomorrow?" Ukon asked, pointing to the phone as he and Sakkon sat down on the floor, leaning against Shizuka's bed.

"Somewhere during that drabble of useless arguments, yeah I think he said ok." Shizuka shrugged, turning the page of the photo album.

"Why do you cling so desperately to those pieces of paper?" Ukon asked, glaring at the photo album with utmost disgust.

"Because—"

Shizuka was cut off by Jiroubou coming in with another phone. "Sakkon, you have a call." He gave it to the younger twin.

"Eh?" Sakkon took the phone. "Hello?" There was a moment of silence. "…Uh-huh… Hold on a sec." He then got up and left the room, giving them all weird looks.

Shizuka and Kimimaro looked at each other. "We're all hooking up tonight, aren't we?" Shizuka rolled her eyes, giving Ukon a look.

Meanwhile, outside, Sakkon ran to his room and slammed the door shut, locking, then locking the window, then locking the bathroom door, then stuffing blankets under both doors and pulling the blinds down. Finally feeling secure, he shouted, "What the hell do you want, Yamiko!"

"Why isn't Ukon calling me?" she asked coldly, the sweet, caring Yamiko he knew from school evaporated into a nasty, unrequited Yamiko he hated.

"Because he has someone else now!" (Duh, Sakkon would know about Ukon's "crush" on Sakura… They have that freaky twin thing going.)

"Who!"

"Uh…" _Shit, what's her name? _Sakkon snapped his fingers, trying to remember. _Cherry… cherry… cherry… Cherry tree? Cherry coke! Cherry blossom… That's it! Cherry blossom! _"Sakura."

"Sakura!" Yamiko shrieked. Sakkon jerked the phone away from his ear. "That fat-chested bitch from our gym class!"

"Yeah." Sakkon didn't dare put the phone close to his ear.

"What the hell! How could he like someone like here! She's a freak with pink hair!"

"He seems to like her." Sakkon ignored the fact that he wasn't all that pleased with Sakura right now. Defending his twin came first, dammit!

"How _can_ he! I'm so much prettier then her! Aren't I prettier then her!"

"…Er." _I never know how to answer that question. _

"How can he like her!" Yamiko decided to continue the previous conversation. "He only met her, what, this week!"

_Wow, it _is_ only Saturday, isn't it? We've only been in school for a week? HOW SLOW DOES LIFE GO BY? _Needless to say, Sakkon wasn't really paying attention to Yamiko's mindless rattling.

"Hello! Sakkon! Are you _listening_ to me!" Yamiko shrieked.

"Nope."

"Argh! You're just as idiotic as your brother!"

"Hey," Sakkon said warningly. _Damn it, no one calls him an idiot but me!_

"You're useless! Good bye!"

She hung up. Finally.

"Jesus Christ." Sakkon turned the phone off and opened his door, tossing it down the hall for someone to pick up. "What a crazy chick. At least Sakura's somewhat normal."

**(Meanwhile)**

Ukon glared at Shizuka, Sakura and Kimimaro. They were up to something. Even Kimimaro was giggling. And Kimimaro giggled at very little. What the hell was so damn interesting about that fuckin' photo album!

_This is killing me. _"What's so funny?" he snapped.

"Y-You…" Sakura pointed to one of the pictures, her face beet red, from holding in laughter or from embarrassment, he couldn't tell.

He got up and stormed over, looking down at the picture.

And promptly slammed the album shut.

"Hey!" Shizuka cried as he snatched it up.

"That is soft porn, dammit!" _What kind of freak takes a picture of a baby taking a bath? _he thought angrily.

"Aw, but it's so cute!" Sakura whined, her lower lip sticking out in a little pout.

"…Don't look at me like that."

Shizuka nudged Sakura, grinning. Sakura pulled a Puss In Boots, blinking up at Ukon with large, shiny green eyes, her lower lip sticking out in a cute pout.

Eye: Twitch-twitch. "Don't look at me like that."

PUPPY DOG EYES!

"Ugh. Fine." He tossed the photo album at them.

**(Meanwhile)**

"How's Shizuka-kun dealing with being grounded?" Kabuto asked, coming in Orochimaru's office.

Orochimaru nodded, typing on his computer. "Quite well. She's having a sleep-over."

"…" Kabuto smacked a hand over his eyes.

Orochimaru looked up at him blankly. "Are they not allowed to do that when they're grounded?"

**(Neji's world)**

"Tell me, what was so interesting?" Hiashi asked when Neji came down to the table at last.

"Shizuka invited me to go ice-skating tomorrow," Neji said by way of answering.

"That's very nice," Hinata's mother said with a smile. "Are Shizuka's parents going to be there?"

_I hope not. _"There's going to be a few older guys coming with us," he answered, poking his pork fried rice. "Two of them are adults now."

"I suppose that would be alright," his aunt said with a smile.

Neji shrugged, looking around. "Where's Mom?" he asked curiously, seeing an empty chair.

"Oh, she had to work," his aunt said in a consoling voice. "But I'm sure she'll be able to drive you over to the ice-skating rink tomorrow."

"Actually, we're meeting at Shizuka's house before we leave," Neji said. "And then we're all going together. So Mom can drive me to Shizuka's."

"Alright."

"Neji-nii-san has a _date_," Hanabi interjected across the table from Neji, grinning hugely. "Because Neji-nii-san has a _girlfriend_!"

Neji glared daggers at the little girl, stabbing his rice with his chopsticks. Being the only boy in the house besides his uncle made him subject to the torments his little cousin liked to inflict upon him. However, he always got his revenge one way or other. Tonight would be no exception.

"Hiashi-oji-san," Neji said loudly but politely, calling the attention of everyone at the table. "Didn't the weekly progress reports come out yesterday?"

"Ah, yes." Hiashi nodded. "Why don't you three go get yours so I can look at them now before I forget?"

Hanabi cast Neji a look of utmost betrayal and hatred as the three of them got up and went to get their progress reports.

(A/N: I highly doubt Japanese students have these. I'm not even sure American students have these! However, Neji _will_ have his revenge!)

"Hmm." Hiashi examined Neji's report first. "It says you've been late to a few of your classes."

"Freshmen crowding the halls," Neji answered. "It slows down traffic."

"Iruka also says you were caught _passing notes_." Hiashi looked up at Neji with a slight frown. "To whom were you passing notes?"

"Just a friend," Neji answered casually. "We were already done our class work, so it wasn't interfering with schoolwork."

"I see." Hiashi signed Neji's progress report and handed it back to him. He then picked up Hinata's progress report and skimmed it, making a nod of approval and signing it; Hinata never had any remarks on her reports except that she was doing well. He then reached for Hanabi's report, but she looked rather intent on holding onto it, so he had to yank it out of her hands.

"Hmm. Violence. Disregard for rules. Repeated attempts to burn pencils in class." Hiashi looked up at his youngest daughter with raised eyebrows. And it wasn't the 'oh-my-you-creative-kid' raised eyebrows, either, and every person at the table knew it. Oh, no, it was the 'you-need-to-be-taught-how-to-follow-rules-or-die' raised eyebrows.

Neji smirked to himself, finishing his dinner while Hiashi lectured Hanabi on following the rules. Oh yeah. That counted as today's dishing out of proper revenge. After he finished eating, he excused himself and went upstairs, since no one was really paying attention to him. He went up to his room and put in the CD Shizuka had lent him on Friday, called 'Faceless' by Godsmack. He liked the music, even if the lyrics didn't quite fit his current mood.

However, one song did stick out.

_As I sit here and slowly close my eyes  
I take another deep breath  
And feel the wind pass through my body  
I'm the one in your soul  
Reflecting inner light  
Protect the ones who hold you  
Cradling your inner child _

I need serenity  
In a place where I can hide  
I need serenity  
Nothing changes, days go by

Where do we go when we just don't know  
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold  
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing  
And when will we learn to control

Tragic visions slowly stole my life  
Tore away everything  
Cheating me out of my time  
I'm the one who loves you  
No matter wrong or right  
And every day I hold you  
I hold you with my inner child

I need serenity  
In a place where I can hide  
I need serenity  
Nothing changes, days go by

Where do we go when we just don't know  
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold  
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing  
And when will we learn to control

Where do we go when we just don't know  
And how do we relight the flame when it's cold  
Why do we dream when our thoughts mean nothing  
And when will we learn to control

I need serenity

_I need serenity

* * *

_

Review Responses!

**Dragonman180:** Lol. Kimimaro was hiding behind Neji because Kimimaro is a shy little bugger that he is! The scenes where Ukon gets hurt are getting harder because I have to think of something original each time… groan. But I'm glad you liked it! (Kenshin grin)

**Hinata's Biggest Fanboy:** Be still my soul! H.B.F.B. has nothing witty to say! (looks for snow outside) O.o Holy shit. It IS snowing!

**KageNoKatana:** Hell yeah! The bandit dance is awesome! I just had to put that scene in there for comedy. Lol. Did it work? (wants to do the bandit dance, dammit!)

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin:** I sorry the characters are rotting! They're just sitting in the corner gathering dust, aren't they? But don't worry: all will be drawn together… Hopefully. If not… I'll find a way. I almost always do. (Kenshin grin)

**Mika:** Yes… poor Ukon… it breaks my heart to have to put him through all this but… Hey, you know what? Sakura always makes him feel better, so there's a plus!

**Kie-san:** I hate Sasuke! Lol. Most likely, he will be the only person here without a pairing… Actually, I looked through, and a lot of people are going to be without a pairing. Sob. Oh well. Hopefully no one will notice… (hasn't realized she still has the gift of inner-dialog) Ukon IS cool, dammit! And Sakura highlights that in this chapter. Lol. Hmm… I was gonna say something but now I forget. Oh well.

Oh fuck! I just kicked my comp table between my toes…OW!

**Jazzywolf:** Are we back to four-word reviews? (sob)

**xl-twisted-lx:** Ty! Lol. (Kenshin grin)

**Sten:** You need to get un-lazied. Lol. Ty! I like dogs, too, but I always thought cats were more dignified and I couldn't see a dog running around a mansion, could you? And, knowing Ukon, it would have to be the biggest, toughest, drollingest dog out there. So yeah. German rocks!

**AlphaC:** Yay! Favorites list! (GRIN!) I'm glad you like my plot… hopefully I won't destroy it too, too much in my quest to get around to what I actually want to do with this… sob. My tummy hurts now.

**Joann:** No one likes Yamiko. Lol. YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO!

**Great Milenko:** Hell yeah! Die, Sasuke! Lol.

**Riyo Shiban:** I translated them. I hate Sakura as a weak character. Of course, she's still a very emotional character so she gets her sob scenes but still. And… did you say Kamikaze was cute? O.o He's based off a cat I actually have… sitting on my feet…

**My No. 1 FAN:** o.O I have a No. 1 Fan? Oro…. Wow. Ok, thank you!

Okies! Now that that's done…

KIMIMARO PLUSHIES TO WHOEVER REVIEWS!

I'm not begging… I'm offering an exchange, ne? (Turns to Sasuke) GET TO STUFFING!

Sasuke: (sewing Kimi-plushie's body) I don't see why I have to do it!

You're lucky to even be in my fic, dammit! Earn your keep!

Sasuke: (stuffing cotton in body) I GOT DUMPED!

You suck.

Sasuke: (sews up Kimi-plushie) SO! Why should I pay rent for such embarrassment?


	10. Uncomfortable Positions

**Crimson Love

* * *

**

A.A.A. was a success! Yay!

Oh, yeah, Kage wanted me to put this in… The donut thing with Sasuke and Itachi was her thing, she just let me put it in there because I is her twin separated from birth, dammit! (Kenshin grin) (glomp) So she gets credit for that, Okies?

Someone (I forget who) told me to do a sequel for _Apprentice…_ Hmm. I'm not sure about that. I love(d) writing _Apprentice_, I really did, but I don't want to drag it on and on until it loses the original story plot, you know? If I do get an inspiration for a sequel to that, I'll let you all know. But for now, there won't be a sequel… sorry if I disappointed anyone!

Oh yeah, I was watching eps. 120-something of Naruto, and you know what? Ukon's voice is SCARY! Like, yikes! I nearly fell off my seat! Totally not ready for that. You think Sakkon's voice is deep? No. Ukon's voice is even deeper. Esh. Oh well.

Speaking of the twins… Frequently Asked Question: Why is Ukon more popular in this fic? Well, it's kind of weird, actually. See, in _Apprentice,_ he only got mentioned like, 4 times, and I felt bad, because he's such a cool character. Plus, Ukon has a crush/girlfriend/major role in the plot of this story, and his crush/girlfriend happens to be a main character. So yeah. That's why he's more popular now.

Actually… 'popular' isn't exactly the right term (although people are starting to say they like him more now)… 'Important' is more like it, ne?

P.S.: In honor of Valentine's Day (even tho that holiday sucks) I give you… A MUSHY CHAPTER!

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Uncomfortable Positions**

"I'm still a little confused," Sakura mused. She, Shizuka and Kimimaro were sitting on the floor of Shizuka's room, playing CLUE (Ukon left an hour ago to hang out with Sakkon because he thought he was being ignored by Sakura).

"About what?" Kimimaro asked, checking off Col. Mustard on his little sheet.

"Why's there so much security for you two? I mean, you're teenagers, right, can't you take care of yourselves?"

Shizuka and Kimimaro looked at each other, then at Sakura, then back at each other.

"If we tell you…" Shizuka said firmly.

"…You have to promise not to tell anyone," Kimimaro finished.

"Ok," Sakura promised, already interested.

"Come on, binding-forever pinky-swear," Shizuka said, holding out her pinky. Kimimaro extended his, as well, and Sakura locked both of her pinkies with theirs.

"Ok. Now that that's done." Kimimaro lowered his voice. "Shizuka's father, Orochimaru, is the owner of an international business shipping goods from foreign countries."

"Drugs," Shizuka finished casually.

"You're dr—!"

They both clapped a hand over her mouth. "Shh!" Shizuka hissed, glaring. "Listen! We had information that someone in our old house was going to try and other-throw us, so we moved here. The reason why Ukon and Sakkon and the others are all in my and Kimimaro's classes is because they need to protect us in case someone from one of the company's competition tries to kidnap me or Kimimaro in an attempt to get the deeds and rights to the company from Daddy, because Kimimaro is the heir and I'm Daddy's daughter, obviously, and righteous blackmail."

"So…" Sakura reasoned slowly, once they removed their hands from her mouth. "Ukon and Sakkon are like… your body guards?"

"Yes."

"And… you're part of an illegal dr—"

"We prefer the term 'unapproved by law'."

"…And… there are people out there who could be kidnapping you at any given moment?"

"That's basically accurate."

"…And you're going on dates with a freak like Itachi every five minutes?" Sakura shouted at Shizuka, causing the black-haired girl to jump. She was still a little peeved at Shizuka for getting her Ukon in trouble… Whoa, '_her_ Ukon'? _Where did that come from?_

"But now that you know, you can't tell anyone," Kimimaro added firmly. "Because if someone from one of the rival companies overhear you, Shizuka or I could get kidnapped and probably killed."

"_Killed?_" Sakura repeated, color draining from her face.

"Well, not really, but if it makes you be quiet, yeah, we will be," Shizuka said, nodding.

**(Next morning)**

Neji starred out the window of the car, watching the yellow lines on the street zoom by while his mom rattled.

"...And you be sure and behave yourself, alright?"

"Sure, Mom."

"That means be nice to the other kids."

"Sure, Mom."

"And be sure and call me when you get there, ok, honey?"

"Sure, Mom." _What am I, like, four years old?_

"Alright, then." She suddenly reached over and ruffled his hair, grinning hugely. "My little Neji, all grown up and going on dates!"

"Mom!" He ducked under her hand. "It's not a date!"

"Sure, it is."

"It's not!"

"Oh, I remember my first date," she said in a dreamy kind of voice.

"Eyes on the road, Mom!"

"It was with Kyushu Hyo. Oh, was he dreamy!"

"Ew… Mom…"

"What's that word you kids use now? Sexy?"

"Mom!" he shouted, feeling slightly ill. "Are you going to do this every time I go _anywhere_?"

"Oh, come on, honey, I'm just kidding."

"We're here," he said, looking outside and seeing Shizuka's house. _Finally…_ His mom stopped the car next to the gates and he got out, going over to the intercom, pressing the button. "Hello?"

"Who is it?" the voice cackled over the speaker.

"Um… Hyuuga Neji? Shizuka's expecting me."

"Oh. Go on in."

"Thanks," Neji said as the gates rolled open.

"Oh, my, what a nice big house!"

Neji turned, eyes wide. "Mom! Who said you were coming?"

"You don't expect me to let my little boy run off with people I've never even met before, do you?" She grinned at him. "Let's go."

Neji groaned inwardly, silently cursing whatever god was so against him that they would will his mother, _his_ mother, to follow him. He also cursed whoever had given him such a weird mom, too, while he was at it.

Instead of the normal doorman, Shizuka herself opened the door, sporting the usual sunglasses. "Hey, Neji!" She noticed his mom. "…And family!"

Trying not to look like he wished he was dead, Neji said, "This is my mom. Mom, this is Shizuka."

"Hi, Mrs. Neji's mom," Shizuka said, her grin widening at the agonized look Neji had on.

"Hi, honey, dear." Neji's mom smiled, taking the hand Shizuka offered. "Aren't you a cute one?"

"Um… thanks?" Shizuka tried to pull her hand away, but Neji's mom wouldn't let her.

"You _are_ a cute one!" Neji's mom bubbled. "Isn't she a cute one, Neji honey?"

"Mom!"

"Hi, Mrs. Hyuuga," Sakura said, coming up behind Shizuka.

"Oh, hi, Sakura honey, how are you?" Mrs. Hyuuga asked, forgetting about Shizuka for a moment. Shizuka took the time to snatch her hand back. "Oh, your hair looks so cute like that, Sakura honey!"

"Thank you." Sakura smiled. She'd known Neji's mom for a while, having seen her when she visited Hinata. She hadn't changed at all.

"Ok, bye Mom, we have to get going," Neji said hurriedly, pushing his mom towards the gate again.

"Ok, honey, have a good time!" Mrs. Hyuuga waved energetically, heading back to her car.

Shizuka raised an eyebrow at Neji once she was gone. "_That's_ your mom?"

"Isn't she great?" Sakura asked with a grin.

"Oh, shut up," Neji said coldly, crossing his arms huffily.

"Oh, come on, Neji, you're mom's cool!" Sakura protested. "A lot cooler then my mom, anyway."

"You enjoy torturing me, don't you?"

"'Course I do, Neji honey."

"Shut up!"

"Did you bring your baby pictures?" Shizuka asked curiously.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes." He showed them the photo album he had under one arm. The two girls squealed and snatched it up, running away down the hall with it. Neji grimaced, shoving his hands in his pockets and following them towards Shizuka's room. When he got there, they were already sitting in the chair, looking through the album and giggling to themselves.

"You were so cute, Neji!" Sakura cried, pointing to a picture of a big-eyed, black haired boy starring up at the camera curiously.

"Ooo! I had one of those!" Shizuka pointed to a stuffed bunny Neji was holding in one of the pictures. "Except mine wasn't so dirty. Didn't you ever wash yours?"

He glared at them. "Please die."

"Now, is that nice?" Shizuka asked, shaking her finger at him, rebuking.

"Is what nice?" Kimimaro asked curiously, coming in Shizuka's room carrying an armload of sweaters and other thick clothing. "Orochimaru wants you guys to wear these," he added, dropping them on Shizuka's bed. He, too, was wearing extra warm clothes, with a sweater and turtle neck shirt. "Hi, Neji."

"Hey."

"Don't you dare even think about coming in here," Shizuka said coldly, going in the walk-in closet with Sakura and the clothes.

"Like we'd want to?" Neji asked, scoffing. After they closed the door to the closet, he pulled uncomfortably at his turtle neck. His mom hadn't let him set foot out of the house without making sure he had on both a hoodie, a turtle neck shirt and long, warm pants. He knew he'd appreciate the warm clothing once they got to the rink, but right at the moment, he was boiling.

"You can take your hoodie off," Kimimaro pointed out, noticing Neji's obvious discomfort, "and just put it back on when we get there."

"Yeah." Neji pulled his arms in the hoodie and pulled it over his head, careful not to mess up his hair, which he'd tied back Legolas-style.

"Are they ready yet?" Ukon asked grumpily, sticking his head in the room.

"They just started changing." Kimimaro pointed to the closet.

The older boy grumbled something about needing coffee as he walked away. _Definitely not a morning person, _Neji mused, sitting down on the chair.

A few minutes later, Ukon came back with a rather large mug of black coffee. "Are they ready _yet_?" he asked, but in a much more sane voice.

Kimimaro shook his head, not taking his eyes off the manga he was reading.

Ukon rolled his eyes, going over to the closet door and rapping his knuckles on it. "Come on, seriously, everyone is ready but you two!" he called into the closet.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're ready," Shizuka snapped, opening the closet door. "Jeez. Go get some more coffee, grump."

"One 'yeah' is enough," he muttered, taking a swig of his coffee. "Are you sure you'll be warm enough? There _is_ going to be ice there, you know. That means 'coldness'."

Shizuka glared, putting her hands on her hips. Both girls were dressed in thick sweaters (Shizuka in red and Sakura in pink) and had on jeans (Shizuka in black and Sakura in blue). "We have scarves and things to put on later!" she snapped, showing him that she did, indeed, have a pair of scarves, one of which she promptly gave to Sakura.

"Ok, fine." Ukon gave his nod of approval at the attire, then added, "Bring coats just in case."

"Neji, I didn't know you could skate," Sakura said, throwing the scarf around her neck.

"I'm starting now."

"…You can't skate." Shizuka raised an eyebrow. (You know how limited her damn expressions are because of those sun glasses? Esh…)

"Nope."

"Then why did you agree to come?" Kimimaro asked curiously.

Neji instantly repressed a blush that they all saw, and muttered quickly, "Didn't feel like sitting around all day."

(**That means he wanted to spend the day with Shizuka, duh!**) Sakura smirked at him, pulling on her shoes.

"Are we all ready _yet_?" Ukon snapped. He seemed rather grumpy. He quickly drained the coffee. "Ah. Ok, I'm awake. Are you all ready?" he ended in a different tone. (Ah, the magic of coffee…)

"Yeah, we're ready now." Shizuka, totally used to his morning mood swings, threw her scarf over her shoulder and she led the group down the hall to the foyer, where Kidoumaru, Tayuya and Sakkon were waiting for them. (Jiroubou's not there because… yeah. He's a useless character. I can't think of any scenes to put him in.)

Instead of riding in the limos, like usual, everyone crammed into a nine-seating mini-black van so they could all travel together. Ukon sat in the driver's seat, Sakura sat in the passenger seat, Kimimaro, Shizuka and Neji sat in the middle row with Shizuka between them, and Kidoumaru, Sakkon and Tayuya sat in the back seat.

"Rammstien!" was the general outcry from the back seat as they set off down the road.

"No!" Shizuka shouted at once, reaching forward and grabbing the CD out of Ukon's hand before he could put it in. "I am so sick of Rammstien!"

"Eh…" Ukon gestured for Sakura to look through the CDs so he could focus on the road. She got out the CDs and spread them on her lap, looking through them and reading the titles.

"Coal Chamber?"

"No."

"Marilyn Manson?"

"Nah. He gets old after a while."

"Adema?"

"Nah. I only like one of their songs."

"System of a Down?"

"YES!" everyone in the car instantly shouted, causing her to jump.

"Told you System of a Down rocks," Ukon pointed out as Sakura put the CD in.

**(At the Ice skating rink)**

"Eight, please," Sakura said, after doing a head-count. The guy at the counter gave her eight wrist bands and tickets for the skate counter, and she handed them out. "We pick up our skates over there," she explained, having known the place well from being there when the rink was used as a soccer field for one of Neji's indoor games.

"This was a bad idea," Neji said as soon as he had his skates on and was on the ice.

"Oh come on, skating is fun!" Shizuka cried, skating in a half-circle around him as he clung to the wall like it was the only thing between him and certain death.

"I liked this place better when it was a soccer field."

"Come on, let go!" She pulled at one of his arms. "A fifteen year old of any gender clinging to a wall is just pathetic!"

"I'd rather be pathetic then die."

"Skating won't kill you! It's cardiovascular!"

"I don't care. I'm not doing it."

"Oh, yes you are," she snapped, giving an almighty pull on his arm, yanking him off the wall and pulling him into the middle of the rink.

"Eep!" He instantly fell to his knees, clamping down on her waist to keep from falling completely, starring at the ice like it was hell on earth.

"Hey!" She tried to pry him off, since she was losing her balance.

"Don't you dare!" he cried, tightening his grip.

"NEJI? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

_Oh god… please not…_

Lee suddenly appeared at Neji and Shizuka's side, wearing a green turtle neck and green jeans (Dude… do they even make green jeans?). "Why are you clinging to Shizuka-san like your life depended on it?" Lee asked curiously.

"Because," Neji snapped, glaring up at Lee. "I… am going… to _die_!"

"Well, this is rather sudden, why's that?" Lee asked as TenTen skated up.

"Hi, Neji!" TenTen cried, waving.

"How many of you are actually here?" Neji asked, looking agonized.

"Well," Lee said thoughtfully, "Originally, TenTen and I were going to come here by ourselves, because, obviously, exercise is more important then life. But then, TenTen called Ino, who called Sasuke, who called Naruto, who called everyone we know, so, basically, everyone's here except Hinata, who can't skate. Why?"

_Oh god… more people to witness…_

"Let go of him!" TenTen cried at Shizuka. "You're scaring him!"

"Who's got who, exactly?" Shizuka countered angrily.

"It's ok, TenTen, I—"

"No, it's not ok!" TenTen interrupted, pulling on Neji's arm. "Come on, I'll teach you to skate!" (Note: SNG really hates TenTen)

"What makes you think you can teach him better then I could?" Shizuka snapped, putting a hand on Neji's arm around her waist to keep him there for the time-being.

"Says me!" TenTen countered, glaring.

"Oh really?" Shizuka growled.

"Yes, really!"

"You wanna race?" Shizuka pushed Neji out of the way.

"Yeah!" TenTen snapped.

"Ok, let's go!" Shizuka got ready to race.

"SHIZUKA, IF YOU DON'T CATCH ME, I'M GONNA FALL!" Neji shrieked, waving his arms frantically in an attempt to regain his balance.

Shizuka-.-'

Meanwhile, across the rink, Ukon was having much more success with teaching Sakura to skate next to him. However, she was not at all at ease when she didn't have a death-grip on his hand (note he's not complaining).

…Actually, he wasn't having any success at all, since she just sort of stood there, pigeon-toed, letting him pull her.

"Don't keep your feet so close together," he ordered. "If you do, you'll just topple over like a lolly-pop."

"Yes, but you're not going to let me fall because you're not going to let go, are you?" she said threateningly, through chattering teeth.

He smirked at her. "No, I'm not going to let go," he reassured her.

"HIYA, ALPHA-KUN!" Sakkon shouted, zooming past with Kidoumaru.

"Huh?" Ukon looked down at the empty space that had once been Sakura. He looked up.

Groan.

Sakkon and Kidoumaru, obviously thinking that Sakura had become a pro in a matter of a few seconds, had each grabbed one of Sakura's hands and were skating at top-speed down the rink.

_Oh, man. _Ukon groaned, skating after them. After he finally caught up with them, he plucked the traumatized Sakura out of their hands and clamped her under one arm. "Don't ever fuckin' do that again," he said coldly. They just shrugged and skated off to do the same thing to Tayuya. "Let's go get some hot chocolate," he suggested guiltily to Sakura, who nodded, ready for any reason to get off the ice and away from the Ice-skaters From Hell.

"I guess it'd be kind of stupid to ask if you were having a good time yet." Ukon asked, once they were sitting at a table with a hot chocolate each.

"No, no, I am," she reassured him, sipping the hot chocolate. "You know," she said thoughtfully, blowing the steam off the hot liquid. "I don't really know that much about you."

"Well, I'm not exactly a fountain of knowledge about you, either."

"Well, you answer my questions, and I'll answer yours," she said, grinning.

He smirked, sipping his hot chocolate. "Ok. What do you want to know?"

"I already know about your _job_," she said, giving him a pointed look to which he raised an eyebrow. "I want to know, like, where were you born, how long have you known Shizuka and Orochimaru-san, things like that."

"I see. So this is story time, then."

"Yes, and don't you dare leave anything out," she ordered. "You don't have to worry about my feelings or anything, if there's anymore ex-girlfriends, and I know you remember your mom, so don't leave her out, either."

Something moved behind his eyes, but Ukon repressed it, grinning. "Ok, I see." He took another sip of hot chocolate, thinking for a moment, as if contemplating where to begin. "I was born in Mizukagura (1)," he began, starring off into space. "Sakkon and I were my parents' only children, so we were pretty much pampered. When we were four, my parents sent us off to nursery school. It was just a block away from our house, and everyone in the town knew each other, so they let us walk home by ourselves."

Sakura watched as a sudden, small smile formed in his face as he remembered.

"We had little uniforms," he said, grinning. "Kind of like a sailor's. We had weird, stupid collars and little scarf-bows. Sakkon has a picture somewhere. Anyway, one day in about mid-March, we were walking home, and I smelled smoke. I was only four at the time, of course, but I'd poked candle flames enough to know the smoke is bad. I told Sakkon to wait there while I went to see what was wrong, but of course, he wasn't going to stand for that, so I tied him to a tree with my scarf and went to go see what was wrong. When I got to the house, everything was burning."

He paused for a moment, starring down at his hands around his cup. Sakura reached across the table and touched his fingers, not sure what she was supposed to do, since he was obviously struggling inside. He tensed slightly, then let her slip her hand into his palm.

"I couldn't find my dad," he said softly, his eyes in shadow. "I'm not sure he was even in the house. I found my mom, though… her lower body was… crushed under a beam that had fallen in the fire… I tried to pull it off her, but I was too little…"

He lifted his palms upright to show her, his eyes still cast down. She looked accordingly, and noticed, for the first time, like pink burn scars on the finger and palm pads of his hand. _Oh… where the beam burned him…_

"She told me to get out, before I got burned, too…" Ukon continued. "But I didn't want to leave her, so she made me make her a promise…"

"To protect Sakkon," Sakura finished, watching Sakkon and Kidoumaru skate in circles around Tayuya, who was steaming at the ears.

He nodded. "I knew how important it was to her, and I knew she wanted me to go so I wouldn't get hurt, so I ran outside before the house could collapse, and I got Sakkon from the tree and we went over a neighbor's house. They only have one daughter, a little older then us, so they let us stay for a few months until my mother's will was found. In it, she said something about Orochimaru-sama, I forget what, so our neighbors helped us find him, and he agreed to take us in, even though he didn't even really know us."

_Maybe Orochimaru _does_ have his good sides, _Sakura contemplated, her fingers running over the burn marks on his palms.

"He explained to us at an early age, just after he adopted Kimimaro, and after Shizuka-sama was born, that he wanted us to protect them, in exchange for him keeping us there. We agreed, since we decided that was fair, and he started teaching us stuff, like martial arts and how to shoot. He even taught us a little kendo, in case we would need it. Over a year or so, Tayuya and Kidoumaru and Jiroubou came, too, and Orochimaru-sama told them the same thing he told us: if we protect Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro, he'll let us stay. So, obviously, we all worked hard together, and eventually become friends, more or less."

"When did he start… you know…?"

"Oh." He starred intently at his hot chocolate. "That started when I was about nine."

"What happened?"

"We were at school," he explained. "Elementary school. Tayuya, Kidoumaru, Jiroubou, Sakkon and I were in fourth grade and Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro were in kindergarten. All the classes were on the playground for recess, and Shizuka-sama, Kimimaro, Sakkon and I were playing in the sand box, and a fifth grade came over and started picking on Shizuka-sama."

"Why would he pick on Shizuka?" she asked, wondering who in their right mind would pick on Shizuka, regardless of age.

"Her eyes," Ukon answered, looking up at her for the first time, pointing to his own left eye. "They're different. Kids made fun of her for it. You'll have to ask her. Anyway, Shizuka-sama is not one to take something like that lying down, as we both know, so, of course, she had to fight him. But she was only five, and I was nine, so I figured I had to step in for her, because I was supposed to protect her. So, I pulled Shizuka-sama out of the fight and went in myself, but when I was throwing her away, she hit her head on the sand box and got knocked unconscious."

Sakura winced, as people normally do when they picture themselves in that kind of situation.

"We took her to the nurse, and she regained consciousness, but of course, Orochimaru-sama found out from Shizuka-sama, who thought it was cool, but, of course, Orochimaru-sama didn't think it was cool at all." Ukon put a hand over his forehead, starring down at the table, and was silent for a few minutes.

"What did he do?" Sakura asked steadily, taking his other hand in both of hers. "I know he did something."

"Sticks," was all Ukon said, not looking at her.

Her jaw dropped. "He hit you with a _stick_?"

He nodded.

"How big was it?"

"…." He used his index finger and thumb to make a circle about as big as an American quarter.

"Oh, Ukon…" She went around the table to sit in the empty seat next to his, rubbing his back gently while he remained in a choked silence for a while longer, until he was ready to talk again.

"After that, everything just started becoming my fault for some reason," he continued. "Everyone else's mistakes would somehow get piled up on me, even if I wasn't involved. If Tayuya and Kidoumaru messed up in gun practice, it was my fault because I didn't help them. If Shizuka-sama or Kimimaro got in trouble in class, it was my fault for not being five years old and being there. Just like when Shizuka-sama went on a date with Uchiha, it was my fault for letting her go."

"What about these?" Sakura held up his wrist, showing the thin cuts.

"Oh…" He looked down at them with a grimace. "When I was thirteen, I started to…"

"Cut yourself," she ended, looking at the thin little cuts. (2)

He nodded. "I didn't want to tell you before, because… well, I thought you'd think it was dangerous. Which it is, that's why I'm trying to stop."

"Why are these ones a little fresher?" She pointed to a few scars on the side of his wrist.

"Uh… well, sometimes, when I get hit, I cut myself, so, that day when you first came over, I had cut myself when I got back to my room."

"Why do you do it?" she asked, since the procedure didn't really make sense to her.

"It's supposed to focus emotional pain on physical pain," he explained. "I highly recommend you never start."

"What kind of emotional pain?"

"…Well, it's kind of hard to explain," he said, looking a little uncomfortable. "Sometimes, I have nightmares, so I do it then."

Sakura blushed furiously as he reached around her, putting an arm around her shoulders and holding her against him, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"But for the past few nights, I've had the best sleep I've had in years," he said softly. "So thank you."

"For what?" _I didn't do anything…_

"For being there," he answered. "For taking care of me when I was hurt. I've never been able to tell anyone this stuff, and I'm glad it's you I can tell."

"Y-You're welcome…"

They sat in a rather comfortable silence for a while, disturbed only by shouts from the rink and the sound of peaceful breathing and the sipping of hot chocolate. Then, after about twenty minutes, Ukon turned to her, smiling, and said, "Ok, do you want to try again with skating? I promise it's not that hard."

She nodded as he stood up, and took the hand he offered. They hadn't taken off their skates to get the drinks, so she had some difficulty moving around, but, of course, he helped her.

**(Meanwhile)**

"I'm going to sit over here and rest, ok?" Neji waved Shizuka away. She'd tried for the past fifteen minutes to teach him to skate, and so far, he could go forward slowly without falling. Stopping was still a problem, but that's what the wall was there for, so he skated over to the wall, slamming against it, and inched his way to the nearest door thing. After that, he collapsed on the nearest table and got ready for a possible nap.

"Neji!"

_Never mind. _"Yes, TenTen?" He looked up as she slid across the tile floor on her skates.

"Neji," she said again, blushing furiously and looking away, her hands behind her back.

"Yes."

"Would you… um… w-would you l-like to… you know… go out with me sometime…?"

"…."

"I know this seems sudden, but it really isn't," she said quickly, her blush deepening.

"…."

"It's just, I've had this crush on your since, like, first grade, and since we're actually kind of alone for once now, I just had to—"

"Sorry."

TenTen dragged to a stop, starring. "W-What?"

Neji sat at the table, slumping over and resting his chin on his arms. "You're a nice friend and everything, but I'd like to keep it that way. As friends."

Her look of shock turned into a glare. "You like that Shizuka girl, don't you?" she snapped. (I hate it when girls do this, it's so annoying… just take 'no' and leave!)

He gave her a blank look.

TenTen scoffed, putting her hands on her hips and looking away for a second. "Fine," she snapped, turning to glare at him again. "You go ahead and like that freak. See if I care."

_Obviously, you already do,_ he thought absently, not bothering to look at her anymore. He figured talking back would be pointless now, which it was.

He was spared having to answer any annoying questions, however, as she suddenly made an "ohh!" sound and stormed away towards the rink again.

_Women should burn,_ he thought, before contemplating whether or not he should go get some hot chocolate. Deciding he shouldn't, since he would probably fall, he settled down for a nap.

**(Afterwards)**

The contents of the car were silent as they drove home at about six in the evening. Ukon didn't play any music, since Shizuka, Kimimaro, Sakkon, Tayuya and Sakura were all asleep.

Actually, if one were to look in the back seats of the car, one would have the uncontrollable urge to go "awww…" In the very back seat, Kidoumaru sat in the middle, with Tayuya and Sakkon both sleeping peacefully with their heads on his shoulders, and he himself was nodding off. In the middle seat, Neji sat by the window, starring out at the dark sky (Note: It's September, so the sky gets darker faster), with Shizuka asleep on his shoulder and Kimimaro asleep on Shizuka's shoulder. Sakura, meanwhile, had fallen asleep with her head against the glass of the side window.

"That was a date," Ukon told Neji, the only other conscious person in the car.

"What?" Neji snapped out of a daze to turn to look at him. "Oh, we all knew you and Sakura had a date, don't worry."

"I'm not talking about me and Sakura, I'm talking about you and Shizuka-sama."

…Pause. "What?"

"Well, she asked you to come, and you two spent the better part of nine hours together. I think that counts as a date, don't you?"

"Kimimaro was always there," Neji said defensively.

Ukon gave him a look.

"It's not a date!" Neji hissed, so as not to wake the other people in the car.

"Sure. Ich weiß, dass Sie geheim verliebt in Fräulein Shizuka sind, Sie Idiot." (T: I know you're secretly in love with Shizuka-sama, you idiot.)

"What?"

"Nothing."

**(When they got to Shizuka's house)**

"I'm guessing you had a good time," Orochimaru said from where he was waiting patiently for them in the foyer.

"Yes, indeedy," Shizuka said through a yawn as her cell phone rang. "Hang on," she said as everyone else came in a zombie-like state. She took out her phone. "Hello? …Now? You… Ok… Ok… Ok! Fine." She hung up.

"Who was that?" Orochimaru asked curiously.

"No one, just a friend from school," she answered, turning to Neji, who, besides Ukon, was the only one more then half awake. "Neji, can I go over your house and work on my English homework?"

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow. "We can do it—"

_Stomp._ She glared at him.

"Uh… sure… ok." Still a little confused at exactly why she had to do the homework over his house, he shrugged, biting back the pain shooting up from his foot.

"Be back by eleven, alright, Shizuka?" Orochimaru said as Ukon headed to his truck with Neji and Sakura. "Or until Neji's parents tell you to leave. Then call Ukon and have him pick you up."

"Ok, bye, Daddy," she said, giving him a quick hug and running towards the truck.

"Call your mom and say you have a ride," Ukon said, giving Sakura his phone.

"Oh, yeah." She shook herself awake enough to dial her home phone number. "Hi, Mom? …Yeah I had fun… Yeah… You haven't left to pick me up, have you? …Oh yeah I forgot to give you those… Well, don't worry, I have a ride, I— Shut up, Mom… Just… Ok, bye." Rolling her eyes, she gave the phone back. "My mom's a dork. Gee whiz."

"Ha ha ha!" Shizuka said mockingly, pointing at her from the back seat.

Sakura smirked and threw her sweater (she has a shirt on underneath) and scarf at her.

**(At Hyuuga House)**

"I don't see why you had to come over _my_ house to study," Neji said with a frown as Ukon pulled away.

She scoffed at him, pulling off her sweater and scarf. Underneath, she had a red tank top and black fishnet shirt. "Don't be stupid," she told him, getting out her cell phone and dialing a number.

"Then why are you here?" he asked, his imagination running away with him for a few minutes.

"Shh!" she ordered, waving him be silent. "Hello? 'Chi-san? Yeah I'm at Neji's, come pick me up. Ok, bye."

Neji's jaw dropped. "You!" he cried, pointing at her accusingly.

She looked at him. "What?"

"You're going to go out with _him_ again, aren't you!"

"Yeah?"

"And you're just using me as an excuse so your dad won't wonder where you are!"

"And your point was?"

"Who do you think you are?" he cried, wishing he could just strangle something.

"Oh, please." She rolled her eyes. "Look, if my dad calls, just tell him I'm in the bathroom or something, ok?"

"I'm not going to do that! I'm going to tell him you're with that asshole!"

"I'll pay you if you want."

"No! You think _money_ will make my conscious not bite me in the ass for letting you go somewhere with him, _alone_?"

"Yes," she said, as if he were stupid, as a car pulled into the street before the house.

"Come on, love," Itachi called, rolling down the window. He was driving a red Firebird this time, since his other car was probably in the shop after Neji's little disagreement with it.

Shizuka sighed at Neji's death glare at Itachi. "Look, just please do this just this once? For me?" she begged. "I promise it'll never happen again."

Neji glared at her for a few minutes, then sighed angrily and said, "Fine. Just this once, alright?"

She nodded vigorously, backing away towards the car. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, putting her hands together and bowing with every 'thank you'. "Most wonderful, divine, glorious, magnificent, amazing, astonishing, astounding, beguiling, cool, egregious, enigmatic, extraordinary, fabulous, fantastic, fascinating, groovy, heavenly, incomprehensible, incredible, indescribable, marvelous, miraculous, peachy, phenomenal, sensational, signal, splendid, splendiferous, stupefying, stupendous, super, superexcellent, superfine, superior, swell, terrific, unparalleled, unprecedented, unspeakable, wondrous Neji!"

"Just go," he said angrily, walking back towards his house, turning his back to her. He heard the car door close, followed by laughter and the sound of said car driving away. _Dammit! _he thought angrily, trying to ignore the ache in his chest.

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Yay! Finally done! Ok, review responses… Yikes… 17… ok hang on… sigh. 

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin:** (hands over Kimi plushie) I tried to put the other characters in this chapter a bit more… I promise they'll come in later, ok? And yeah, it'd be funny for Ukon to check out the 'competition'. Lol. I don't personally like Hanabi, since she took Hinata's place as the heir in the manga… sigh. Oh well. I like writing her in this (torturing Neji rocks!)

**Riyo Shiban:** (hands over Kimi plushie) Gaara will make an entrance when they get back to school! Don't worry! Ok? Kamikaze is based on my step dad's cat, Thumper. Lol, he's such a lazy cat, that he is.

**xl-twisted-lx:** (hands over Kimi plushie) Yes! Fast up-dating rocks! Lol, ty.

**Inusaiyan:** (hands over Kimi plushie) Neji rocks! (glomp)

**AlphaC:** (hands over Kimi plushie) S.O.A.D. OWNS, DAMMIT! What, you never heard of them? You suck. Lol, j/k.

**Kie-san:** (hands over Kimi plushie) Yes! Ukon and Sakura are finally together! Yay! Well… not really finally, since it's only the tenth chapter but… yeah. Lol. Uh… not sure how to comment on the rest of the review, you kinda lost me, but my Yahoo messenger ID is sand (underscore) nin (underscore) gurl. It'd be cool to talk to you! Lol.

**Crazytreeotaku:** (hands over Kimi plushie) Gaara owns… sometimes. Neji is my fav character, tho. Lol. DEATH TO YAMIKO! (stab stab stab)

**Mika:** (hands over Kimi plushie) O.o SNG-sama…? Hm, it could catch on. BTW, my e-mail changed, go see my profile to get the new one… e-mails don't show up here. Sob.

**Jazzy Uchiha:** (hands over Kimi plushie) Ok.

**xl-black-tears-lx:** (hands over Kimi plushie) Wow another xl person… what's that stand for? Oh well, anyway, ty!

**Jasmine:** you reviewed three times… oh well, more for me!

**Jazzywolf:** reviewing three times won't get you three plushies, you know.

**Sten:** (hands over Kimi plushie) Don't worry… Sakura will do… something. My imagination exploded when I read your review. Ty.

**Ginka:** (hands over Kimi plushie) You printed it? Wow. Ok. Let me know how big it gets, ok? I is curious! (Like, what size of binder does it fill up or whatever if you put it in a binder) I should print my stories and put 'em all in a big binder, that I shoulder… oh well. Too lazy.

**Dragonman180:** (starts to hand over Kimi plushie) Er… do you want one? I mean, I know you're a guy, so… yeah… Anyway… Neji shall get his revenge, dammit! I have embarrassing photos of myself, too, alas. My mom says she's going to show them to all my boyfriends (she hasn't yet, so I'm good). Orochi is a baka! Lol.

**Hinata's Biggest Fan Boy:** Uh… Here's a Hinata plushie. (gives) Nothing whitty to say? Ha ha! (point and laugh!)

Yay! All done (sits back and takes deep, cleansing breaths)

Oh, yeah, those note thingies…

1. Sakkon and Ukon's former village in the manga isn't made clear, but I had a thought. Remember in vol. 2, when those two Mist Nin assassins snuck up on Kakashi and cut him up? Well, it sort of looked like they were of the same body, so I thought, "Oi, Sakkon and Ukon's think must be a Bloodline Limitation thing, right, so what if those two had it, too?" and so I made Sakkon and Ukon be from the Mist village (sorry if I spelled it wrong, I couldn't find the right word). Just my opinion…

2. CUTTING IS WRONG! It does NOT work, it is a totally almost fatal procedure! Ukon makes it very clear that cutting is a harmful and dangerous thing to do. If you have a problem with cutting, or know someone who does, talk to a school counselor, and try to help that person before something very serious happens to them!

Ok, now I'm done.


	11. Medieval

**Crimson Love**

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Reason for fast updates: I have no life

Inspiration for fast updates: My sick and evil mind

Reviewers I want to thank: Dragonman180, Kie-san, Hinata's Biggest Fan Boy, RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin, xl-twisted-lx, Mika, and… wait, that's it. Thank you guys! You all reviewed every chapter (Yay) I am undeserving… O.o'

…Yep, that's it. Ok, enjoy! (My author notes have gotten short, haven't they?)

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**Chapter Eleven: Medieval**

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"Wait, my house is that way," Sakura said, watching her street go by.

"I know," Ukon said casually, twiddling the steering wheel.

"Then why are we going this way?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "Aren't you hungry?"

"A little," she admitted.

"So let's go get something to eat," he said with a grin. "Anywhere. Your choice."

"_Any_where?" At his nod, she thought for a moment. She knew money wasn't an issue; she'd seen inside his wallet when he had paid for their hot chocolates that morning, and he had wads and wads of bills in there. Big bills. So he could probably take her to a fancy restaurant if she asked him to. But she didn't really feel like fine-dining and three-course meals. "Actually," she said, grinning slightly, "I could really go for a hamburger."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "A _hamburger_?"

She nodded firmly. "And a sprite."

He made a goofy face and shrugged. "Ok, hamburger it is, then."

"Let's go through the drive-thru, though, since my mom is expecting us back."

"Alright." He pulled into a Burger King drive-thru. (Note: Burger King Fries taste better then MacDonalds fries. (H-R: they're all fries to me))

"Hi, welcome to Burger King, may I take your order," the possible-crackhead teen said over the intercom.

"One Double Whopper meal," Ukon said.

"Wait, what about—" He held up a hand to stop her, and winked.

"Just wait," he said, grinning.

"So that's a Double Whopper meal," the teen said in a monotone.

"No, a Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi," Ukon corrected.

"Ok, so a Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi. Is that all?"

"No, I'd like a hamburger, too."

"Ok, a Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger. Is that all?"

"No, I'd like a sprite, too."

"Would that be a separate drink from your Pepsi?" (Note: All phrases from teen said in crackhead monotone)

"Yep."

"Alright a Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite. Is that all?"

"No, I'd like a medium fries, too."

"A Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite and a medium fries. Would that be all?"

"No, I'd like a large Angus meal, too."

"A Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite and a medium fries and a large Angus meal. What drink would you like?"

"Coke."

"A Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite and a medium fries and a large Angus meal with a Coke. Would that be all?"

"No, I'd like a double cheese burger, too."

"A Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite and a medium fries and a large Angus meal with a Coke and a double cheese burger. Would that be all?"

"Nope, I'd like a large fries and Coke with that."

"Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite and a medium fries and a large Angus meal with a Coke and a double cheese burger and a large fries and Coke. Would that be all?"

"Nope, I'd like a spicy Tendercrisp chicken sandwich meal."

"Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite and a medium fries and a large Angus meal with a Coke and a double cheese burger and a large fries and Coke and a Tendercrisp chicken sandwich meal. What drink would you like with that meal?"

"Fries."

"……………………….." There was a long pause. "Excuse me, sir?"

"I said a Sprite."

"Oh. So that's a Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite and a medium fries and a large Angus meal with a Coke and a double cheese burger and a large fries and Coke and a Tendercrisp chicken sandwich meal with a sprite. Would that be all?"

"No, I'd like a Cherry Icee, too."

"Double Whopper meal with a Pepsi and a hamburger and a sprite and a medium fries and a large Angus meal with a Coke and a double cheese burger and a large fries and Coke and a Tendercrisp chicken sandwich meal with a sprite and a Cherry Icee. Would that be all?"

"You're not too good at remembering things, are you? I said all that at the beginning."

Sakura would have fallen over if her seat belt wasn't holding her in place.

"Yes sir. That's all?"

"Yep, that'll about do it."

The crackhead teen rang it all up, and Ukon pulled up to the second window and took all the bags in the window and gave them to Sakura, who was looking at him funny.

"What?" he asked as they pulled away. "I had to get food for Kidoumaru, Tayuya, Sakkon and Kimimaro," he cried, as if this were obvious.

Sakura rolled her eyes, fishing through the five bags on her lap. In the end, she put them on the seat between them and looked through while Ukon held one of the drink trays in one hand and one in his lap. "Which one was yours?" she asked, frowning.

"The Double Whopper."

"Oh. Here you go." She gave him the Double Whopper and fries and took the drink tray away from him, reaching back and setting it in the back seat and propping it up with the bags of food that weren't theirs, after taking her food out. She also took the tray out of his lap, which contained their drinks (how she could tell the Coke from the Pepsi is beyond me) and stuck the drinks in the cup holders so they wouldn't spill, tossing the empty drink tray in the back with the other food.

They ate in silence for a while, since it took a while to get back to Sakura's house (He went to the Burger King in the next area code, practically) before Ukon finally said something.

"Did you listen to that CD I made you yet?" he asked, crumbling up the wrapper for his burger and putting it in one of the empty bags.

"Hmm hmph?" she asked through a mouthful of burger. (T: The what?) She quickly swallowed. "Oh, I forgot about that. It's on top of my CD player, but I haven't actually listened to it."

"Oh. Listen to it." He put his thing of fries against his leg and started eating them.

"Why?" she asked curiously, sipping her sprite.

"Just do it. Especially the last track."

"Again, why?" she asked, getting curious.

"Will you just do it?" he cried, looking slightly annoyed. "…Sorry. I didn't mean to snap. Just listen to it, ok?"

"Ok. I'll listen to it when I get home," she reassured him.

He nodded and went back to eating.

After she finished her sprite, she cleared the trash off the seat between them and unbuckled her seatbelt, scooting into the seat next to his and putting on that seat belt instead. He gave her a curious look, then grinned a little as she laid her head down on his shoulder. He finished his fries, then crumbled up the wrapper, tossing it in the backseat, and inched his arm around her shoulder, driving one-handed. (Now, is that safe? No.)

"Ukon," she said carefully.

"Sakura."

"As much as it pains me to say this, I think you need to meet my mom."

"…What?"

"Well, I don't want to pull a Shizuka and sneak around behind my parent's back, do I?"

"Your mom doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would like her only daughter to be going out with an eighteen-year-old."

"Oh, come on, yes she would, if she actually met you!"

"Would not."

"Would, too! Me and my mom both like the same things, and _I_ like you!"

"…That's beside the point!" he said quickly, his cheeks turning a light pink.

"Please Ukon?" She turned on the puppy-dog pout.

He gave her a few quick glances, trying to focus on the road. When her lower lip quivered, however, he cracked. "Ok, fine, I'll meet her when we get to your house."

"And then you can come over for dinner some time!"

"Hey…" he said warningly.

"Like tomorrow night!"

"Hey!"

"We're here," she said before he could protest any further, as they pulled into the street before the Hanuro residence. "…Why's Ino's mom here?" she wondered aloud, watching said woman exit the house. "Oh, she's got Mom's casserole dish, nevermind. Ok, let's go." She unbuckled her seatbelt.

"What if she doesn't like me? Moms tend not to like me."

"She'll like you fine. Just be nice and polite and you'll be fine."

"Oh, hell no, Miss Thing, I'm not gonna be all 'yes ma'am', 'no ma'am'."

"And cut back on the cursing. A lot. And if you don't go 'yes ma'am', 'no ma'am', she won't like you and she won't let me see you!"

"…How will I know if she likes me?"

"When she calls you 'sweetie' or 'honey', you'll know."

"…'Honey'?" he repeated as they reached the door.

"Remember, nice and polite," she reminded him, thanking any god in heaven that he wasn't wearing the bleeding skull shirt. On the thought, she checked to make sure he wasn't wearing anything that would make her mom think he was a bad guy.

_Zip-up hoodie, T-shirt, jeans, boots. Ok, we're good… wait, what does the T-shirt say? _She pulled the hoodie aside and looked at his shirt.

"JESUS IS COMING! HIDE THE PORN!" his shirt read.

"Do something about your shirt."

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do it!"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, lemme just pull a spare outta my butt!" (Quote: H-R's friend, Shannon. Not sure if I got it right, though…) He zipped up his hoodie. "There."

"Ok, good." Satisfied that he was now presentable, she opened the door, pulling him in after her. "Mom?" she called.

"In here, sweetie," her mom called from the kitchen.

"Come on," Sakura hissed, pulling the reluctant Ukon through the dining room and into the kitchen where her mom was making cookies. "Mom?"

"Here, taste-test—" Her mom stopped, holding a plate of finished cookies, when she saw Ukon. "Oh. Hello."

"Mom, don't freak out, ok?" Sakura said threateningly, holding tightly to Ukon's hand to keep him from running away.

"I'm not freaking out. Why would I freak out?" Ms. Hanuro said calmly.

"Ok, ahem. Mom, this is Ukon." Sakura gestured to aforesaid.

Ukon smiled, offering Ms. Hanuro a hand, which she took. "Hi, Ms. Hanuro, I'm so glad to meet you properly," he said, causing Inner-Sakura's jaw to drop. "Sakura and I both felt that you need to be comfortable with me."

(**LIAR!** Inner-Sakura screamed.)

"Is that so?" Ms. Hanuro said, smiling. "Well, I suppose that's already, honey. Why don't you sit down and tell me about yourself before I give the 'ok'?" She gestured to the kitchen table, which was already heavily laden with cookies.

_Well, that was fast,_ Sakura thought as they all sat down.

Ukon's grin was starting to look a little forced.

"So, how did you meet Sakura?" Ms. Hanuro asked, once they were all seated and Ukon had a plate of cookies at his disposal.

"Well, I met her at school, in a few of my classes, but she's also friends with my boss's daughter, Shizuka-sama," he answered before taking a bite of one of the cookies. His eyes popped out. "Wow! These are _really_ good!" he cried, looking down at it.

"Why, thank you, dear," Ms. Hanuro said, looking please. "Have as many as you like. Now, what was that about a boss? You have a job?"

He nodded, polishing off the cookie and taking another. "Yes, ma'am. Orochimaru-sama, Shizuka-sama's father, owns his own international company, and there's a lot of competition, so I work as Shizuka-sama's personal body guard. Well, I'm one of them, anyway."

_He lied to that quite nicely… Well, it wasn't completely a lie, _Sakura mused silently while her mom asked about Ukon's paycheck. "Mom!" she cried, realizing this.

"No, its ok, Sakura," he reassured her, finishing off another cookie, even though he just ate. "I don't actually have a check every week, the money is automatically put into a private account and I just pull what I need," he explained to Ms. Hanuro.

"What about your car insurance?" Ms. Hanuro asked curiously. "You had to have gotten here somehow."

"Orochimaru-sama takes care of that," he answered as the cookies slowly disappeared. "The car was a Christmas present, so he keeps up the payments." (Let's face it, who should have to pay for their own present?)

"Well, that's very nice of him. What kind of car is it?"

"It's a Nii—" Ukon was cut off by his cell phone ringing. "Uh…"

"That's ok, you can answer it," Ms. Hanuro reassured him.

"Sorry." He took it out. "Hello?"

"Snif. Ukon?"

"Shizuka-sama? I thought you were at Neji's, why are you crying?" Pause. "Did he make you cry?" (In a deadly voice)

"No, I'm not at Neji's… Can you come pick me up? I can explain when you get here."

"Sure, sure," he said, already standing up and getting his keys. "Where are you?"

"I'm on the corner of 9th and 23rd and there's a whole lot of people outside. _Please_ don't tell my dad!" (H-R whirls around and glares at SNG. SNG tried to grin it off. Death glare to painful. Shukaku and Kyuubi: )

"Don't worry, I'm coming to get you," he reassured her, hanging up. "Uh…" He turned back to Ms. Hanuro and Sakura. "Something came up because Shizuka-sama's being a… err… nitwit again, and she needs me to come get her and yeah," he said, backing away towards the door. "But we can finish this conversation sometimes, ok? Bye!"

And he was gone.

Ms. Hanuro and Sakura looked at each other.

"…Well?" Sakura asked after a long silence.

"He seems… nice…"

"Because he is!"

"Alright, dearie, but wasn't he wearing green lipstick?"

**(9th and 23rd)**

Ukon frowned, parking by the side walk and storming up the concrete stairs to the house. When he got to the top, he was instantly greeted by loud music, the sounds of teen-partying, and Shizuka, who looked like she'd never been happier to see him in her entire life.

"I'm sorry," she said, clutching the sweater she'd worn to ice-skating. "I just—I didn't know who else to call."

"It's ok, what's wrong?" Ukon asked, putting a comforting hand on her head.

She was cut off answering by an obviously drunk teen sidling by with a slut on one arm. "Hey, Shizuka," he said teasingly.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Ukon asked with a frown as the guy sidled away.

"No, I came here with Itachi," she confessed. "We hung out a few more times, and I liked the attention, so I had Neji lie and say I was over his house so I could come here with him, but…" She gave him a lip-quivering, hurt look. "All he wanted to do tonight was have _sex_! And I don't know, he just sort of came off a little rough, and I never—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ukon pulled her string of confessions to a stop. "He got _rough_ with you?" Without waiting for an answer, he told her to go wait outside.

Shizuka nodded and went to stand on the lawn where not too many people were hanging around.

A few seconds later, she heard a gunshot and the sound of a window breaking.

"Alright, which one of your sorry asses is Uchiha?"

**-oOo-**

Itachi shouted something incoherent as Ukon threw him, stripped to his boxers, out onto the lawn. "What are you, _crazy_?" the oldest Uchiha shouted.

"Hey, Shizuka-sama," Ukon called, putting his foot on Itachi's head to keep him on the ground. Shizuka appeared from behind the truck, now clad in her sweater. "Uchiha's got something to say to you. _Say sorry_!" Ukon growled at Itachi.

"Oh, god, you _are_ crazy!"

"Boy, you better tell that girl you're sorry before I ruin any chances of you ever having kids," Ukon snarled, grinding Itachi's face into the ground with his heel.

"I'm sorry!" Itachi shrieked at once. "Oh, god, I am sorry!"

"Say 'no means no, Shizuka-sama'!"

"No means no!"

"'No means no, _Shizuka-sama_'," Ukon growled, amid peals of laughter from the surrounding crowd.

"No means no, Shizuka-sama!"

**(A few minutes later)**

"So…" Neji said slowly, over Ukon's phone. Ukon had told Shizuka to call him on the way home and apologize. "…You went out with Uchiha…"

"Uh-huh…"

"…And you went to a party…"

"Yeah…"

"…Where kids were drinking…"

"Yeah…"

"…And getting high…"

"Mm-hmm…"

"…And having sex…"

"Uh-huh…"

"…And you went into a room where Uchiha tried to…"

"Yeah…"

"…But he didn't."

"Mm-mm."

On the other end of the phone, Neji paused for a moment to get a hold of himself. Then he went back to speaking in a monotone. "And then Ukon came…"

"Yeah."

"And took you home…"

"Mm-hmm."

"…After first 'bitchslapping' him…"

"Yeah."

"And now you're not going to see him anymore?"

"No," she said, just as Ukon called, "Only if she wants to be cast into an Amish existence!"

Neji could have sworn he heard the Hallelujah chorus. However, on the other end, Shizuka pulled the phone a few inches away from her ear, ready for the screaming.

Neji finally recovered from the Hallelujah chorus incident, and said, very slowly, trying to sound cheerful, "W-wow… t-that was s-some night!"

Shizuka's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"That was some night!"

Ukon and Shizuka looked at each other.

"So, I'll see you at school tomorrow, ok? Alright, ok, bye." He hung up as they pulled through the gates.

"Ok, that was weird," Shizuka said, giving Ukon his phone back. "And you _promise_ not to call my dad?"

He nodded (duh). "Yeah."

"Alpha-kun honor?"

"Yes, Alpha-kun honor," he said, rolling his eyes as they pinky-swore. "Go to bed, ok?"

"Ok." She went down the hall to her room, where Kimimaro was undoubtedly waiting for her.

Ukon followed at a much more leisurely pace, hands in his pockets. When he got to his room, he opened the door and was greeted by Kamikaze rubbing against his leg. He reached down and scratched the kitty behind the ears, then went to sit on his bed.

**(Please note the following actions are synchronized between Ukon and Neji)**

Neji looked over at his pillow, and picked it up, putting it on his lap and fluffing it a few times, then, quite suddenly, smashed it over his face.

Neji: (muffled) AAAAAAAAAAH!

Ukon: (muffled) AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

(DISCLAIMER: The above chain of events involving Itachi's bitchslapping is copyrighted by the producers of _Bringing Down The House._ I love this movie, but I don't own the scene… Go see it!)

**(Shizuka's room)**

"!" Shizuka wailed, shaking her fists in a mini-tantrum.

"Well, didn't Ukon tell you not to?"

"…!"

"Oh, that's right, you never listen, do you?"

"!"

"Ok, I'm sorry."

**(Ukon's room)**

"Well, I can't exactly bitch slap her and tell her to leave, can I?" Ukon asked, cradling the phone against his ear with his shoulder and squeezing a worm of toothpaste onto his tooth brush. "I don't hit girls."

"No, but can't you just tell her to leave?" Sakura asked on the other line.

"Like she'd listen."

"Good point." Sakura thought for a moment while Ukon brushed his teeth. Yamiko most definitely wouldn't just leave her and Ukon alone. In fact, after careful study of Yamiko's character, Sakura highly suspected that she herself would be the target of many assassination plots that Ukon couldn't do anything about, seeing as said assassinations normally take place in the girl's bathroom. But she was Sakura, and she had Ukon, and there was no way she was losing him to a slut like Yamiko. "I have an idea."

"Hrut?" he asked through a mouthful of toothpaste foam.

"Just leave it to me, she'll leave us alone."

He spit out the toothpaste. "What're you going to _do _to her?"

"Just trust me."

"Um… ok?"

"I'll see you tomorrow, ok? Bye." She made a little kiss-kiss noise, then hung up and went out into the hall. "Mom, where do we keep the bleach?"

**(Later)**

Sakura smirked, patting her book bag. She had some nice, wonderful little presents for Yamiko tomorrow. Oh, yes. Sakura was a foul, sneaky little girl, and she knew it.

However, plotting the overthrow of a slut really takes it out of you, and Sakura was pooped, so she plopped down on her bed, taking a deep, relaxing breath and starring at the ceiling. She thought absently of how, were she laying on Ukon's bed, she would be starring up at posters. _How does he sleep with them all? _she wondered silently.

Speaking of Ukon…

Sakura looked over at her CD player, which was on her nightstand. On it was the CD Ukon had burned for her. _He told me to listen to the last track… Wonder why…_ She shrugged it off, getting her head phones and plugging them in. She popped the CD in and went to the last track, pressing play and laying back on her pillows.

She was greeted with a low, peaceful piano solo. But, at first, Sakura wasn't fooled. After all, Toxicity had had a soft beginning, and that one had ended as a screamer. However, as the lyrics started playing, she forgot to see if it was a screamer (it wasn't) as she just listened.

I'm so scared that you will see  
All the weakness inside of me  
I'm so scared of letting go  
That the pain I've hid will show

I know you want to hear me speak  
But I'm afraid that if I start to  
I'll never stop

I want you to know  
You belong in my life  
I love the hope  
I see in your eyes  
For you I would fly  
At least I would try  
For you I'll take  
The last flight out

I'm afraid that  
You will leave  
As my secrets  
Have been revealed  
In my dreams  
You'll always stay  
Every breathing moment from now

I know you want to hear me speak  
But I'm afraid that if I start to  
I'll never stop

I want you to know  
You belong in my life  
I love the hope  
I see in your eyes  
For you I would fly  
At least I would try  
For you I'll take  
The last flight out

I cannot hold back  
The truth no more  
I let you wait too long  
Although it's hard and scares me so  
A life without you scares me more

I want you to know  
You belong in my life  
I love the hope  
I see in your eyes  
For you I would fly  
At least I would try  
For you I'll take  
The last flight out

**(Next day: Monday)**

Shizuka looked half-dead when Sakura opened the front door. "Time to go," Shizuka said through a yawn.

"Ok, just a sec." Sakura went into the living room and got her bag, then went into the kitchen, getting the large, tin foil covered plate her mom had set out, calling up the stairs, "I'm going, mom!"

"Ok, bye, sweetie, have a good day!"

"Wuzzat?" Shizuka asked sleepily, pointing to the covered plate.

"Present for Ukon from my mom," Sakura answered as they reached the limo. Opening the door, she found Kimimaro leaning his head against the window of the other side, and Ukon in the corner, half-asleep with a Styrofoam cup of java in one hand (H-R: "Cup. Come. To. Mouth……please?"). He cracked an eye open when she scooted in next to him, and gave her a tired smile. He took a swig of java (which Sakura suspected was black) and his eyes opened a little more.

"…Eh?" He pointed to the covered plate. Apparently, he wasn't awake enough to utilize the human language.

"Oh, my mom made it for you," she answered, putting it on his lap.

He lifted the tin foil a little and peeked inside. He grinned a little. "Cookies…"

Kimimaro suddenly perked up. "Cookies?" He looked around.

Ukon stopped, a cookie already half-way to his mouth. "My cookie."

Kimimaro gave a little pout, then said casually, "Hey, Shizuka, you remember when we were five and you lost your security bunny?"

Ukon twitched.

She looked at him. "Yeah…"

"Well, it's a funny story, actually, see, U—"

"Fine, you can have one." Ukon held the plate of cookies out to Kimimaro, who took one.

Thankfully for Ukon, Shizuka was too tired to even remember what Kimimaro had said.

**(When they got to the Hyuuga estate)**

"Where are they?" Shizuka asked, looking out the window of the limo. Normally, Hinata and Neji were standing by the door, waiting for the limo to pick them up, but today, they weren't there. "Are we early?"

"No, they're late," Ukon answered. He was riding in the limo with them, with Sakura under one arm and a cup of java in the other.

"I'll be right back." Shizuka opened the car door and got out, closing it again and going up to the house. She rang the doorbell and waited. As she did, she heard voices carrying through the door.

"I CAN'T FIND MY BACK PACK!"

"WHERE ARE MY WAFFLES?"

"HINATA, WILL YOU PLEASE HURRY UP IN THE SHOWER?"

"NEJI HONEY, DID YOU WASH BEHIND YOUR EARS?"

"WAFFLES, MOM!"

Shizuka started to back away when a little, dark-haired girl opened the door, looking up at her. Behind the girl, Shizuka could see people running back and forth across the hallway.

There was a moment of silence between the two girls.

"NEJI-NII-SAN, YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S HERE!"

Neji suddenly appeared behind the girl, a pop-up waffle in his mouth, and shoved her away. He looked up at Shizuka and held up a finger for her to wait, then disappeared again.

Shizuka waited for about three minutes, watching people run back and forth.

Neji appeared again, pop-up waffle still in his mouth, but this time he had Hinata with him, as well as their book bags. Hinata's hair was a little wet, and she looked slightly flustered, but they said (or rather, Hinata said) they were ready to go.

"Well where's mine?" Shizuka asked, gesturing to the waffle.

Neji rolled his eyes and disappeared again for about a minute, then reappeared with a waffle for Shizuka, which he gave to her.

Satisfied at last, Shizuka led them back to the limo.

"Waffles!" Ukon said excitedly when he saw them.

"No," Neji said firmly, taking said waffle out of his mouth for a moment.

Ukon glared, taking a sip of java. He wasn't quite awake yet.

For the most part, the ride was silent. Kimimaro had fallen asleep leaning against the window, Ukon was watching TV on the little TV in the corner, and Sakura (who was still under Ukon's arm) was talking quietly to Hinata. Neji was starring out the window, waffle long-finished, and Shizuka was looking at her hands, sitting between him and Kimimaro. Then, rather suddenly (but unnoticed by the rest of the car) she put her head on Neji's shoulder.

"Sorry."

He looked down at her. "What?"

She held out a bento box wrapped in a blue cloth with soccer balls on it. (H-R: Peace offering!)

He looked down at it. "For me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

She nodded. "And I can cook, so don't bring that argument up."

He highly doubted that, but he took it anyway, so she wouldn't get offended and start hitting him.

When they arrived at school, sure enough, as soon as Ukon stepped out of the car, he was hit hand in the chest by the whirling ball of energy that was Yamiko.

"Ohayo, Uk-kun!" she squealed, throwing her arms around his arm.

"…" Ukon gave Sakura a look that said 'help me!'

Sakura suddenly clamped down on Ukon's other arm, giving Yamiko a haughty look. "What are you doing to my boyfriend, you mean girl?" (Pout)

Yamiko's plastic smile faded. "_Boyfriend_?" She looked up at Ukon.

_Well, if we're making it official now… _"Yeah. Boyfriend," he said firmly.

The traffic coming out of the limos came to a dead halt.

Insert ten minutes of silence.

"You're _joking,_" Yamiko said finally.

"Are these the eyes of a joker?" Ukon asked coldly, glaring at her and pointing to his eyes.

Everyone had to admit, they weren't.

Suddenly, Temari appeared at Yamiko's elbow, pulling the brown-haired girl off of Ukon. "Leave him alone for once," Temari said, sounding harassed.

"B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B—"

"Let's go, Kankurou," Temari said to her older brother, who was standing behind her. They stalked off, dragging Yamiko after them.

"…What just happened here?" the near-comatose Shizuka asked, frowning.

Tap-tap.

"Huh?" Shizuka turned. "Oh, hey, Gaara." She turned around again.

Pause.

Double-take.

"Gaara!" she cried, suddenly wide awake as she glomped down on the red-haired boy. "How's it goin'?"

"You know him?" Neji asked curiously.

"Yeah, since pre-k," Shizuka said with a grin, throwing an arm around Gaara's shoulders. "We're like this." She showed him her fingers, twisted together. Turning back to Gaara, she repeated her previous question after his health.

Blank stare.

"Oh, that's ok," Shizuka said reassuringly, patting Gaara on the back. "You could still be hearing voices."

"…"

"Oh, really, well, how are the voices doing?"

"…"

"Oh, well, tell them I'm sorry."

Neji turned to Kimimaro. "Is it just me, or is he not saying anything?"

Kimimaro shrugged. "Oh, he never talks; she just always seems to know what he's saying."

Neji sweat-dropped. _Weirdos,_ he thought, inching away from them. _They're all freakin' weirdos…_

**(Geometry/Homeroom)**

"WHAT?" Ino shouted, sitting bolt-upright in her seat.

"Shh!" Sakura shushed her, looking around frantically. Thankfully, everyone in the class was used to Ino by now, so no one paid attention. She knew it was a mistake beginning her statement with "I have a boyfriend."

Ino whirled around to stare at Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, you are Sakura are going out?" she cried.

He gave her a haughty/surprised look. "No."

"SAKURA HAS A BOYFRIEND WHO ISN'T SASUKE-KUN?" Ino shrieked.

Everyone in the class (and school) heard that. Sakura looked around warily after clapping a hand over Ino's mouth.

Naruto and Lee whirled around, tears pouring down their cheeks. "Sakura!" they both blubbered.

Kiba made an "about time" noise and turned around again.

Chouji ate his chips rather faster then usual.

Shino had no comment.

Shikamaru slept on.

SNG doesn't feel like naming everyone else.

"Who is it?" Ino asked, in a calmer tone, now that she was over the first shock.

Sakura sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. Ino was easier to handle when she wasn't in the know. "You know that guy who I was paired up with for the race?" she said, slowly.

"The one who got the carnations?"

Sakura nodded.

"Yeah. What about him?"

Sakura sighed again. "His name is Ukon, and he's my boyfriend."

Ino was quiet for a moment. "Oh, well done," she said, looking genuinely pleased with her friend.

"…Huh?" Sakura had been bracing herself for yelling.

Sasuke had been hoping for yelling.

"What?" both said together, starring at the blonde.

Ino shrugged. "He's pretty hot. And he's a _senior_. And seniors are mature."

"…Not nessesarily," Sakura corrected, thinking of Itachi (yeah, Ukon told her what happened).

"So he isn't mature?" Ino asked curiously.

"I didn't say that, I just meant that not all seniors are mature."

"GOOD MORNING CLASS, AND HOW ARE WE ON THIS FINE MONDAY IN SEPTEMBER? IT IS THE SECOND WEEK OF SCHOOL AND I HOPE YOU ARE READY TO LEARN!" Gai projected.

**(Biology)**

Biology was actually rather uneventful. They took yet another test (Kurenai seemed to like them), and Sakura actually remembered her notebook this time.

That was about all that happened.

After class, Neji was waiting for them, and they all (Neji, Sakura, Shizuka and Kimimaro) made their way to the stairwell through the wads of people.

On the way to the stairs, they passed Itachi, who started to smirk, but stopped when he received death glares from Neji, Sakura and Kimimaro. Shizuka starred at her feet, not even looking at him, as Sakura steered her to the stairs.

"Forget him," Neji advised as they headed towards Iruka's class.

"Yeah…" Shizuka gave a small smile that disappeared almost as soon as it appeared.

"Come on, smile!" Sakura cried, making a funny face.

"…"

"Make this girl smile," Kimimaro said to Ukon when they entered the class.

"Actually, I think smiling's a mute point now," Ukon said grimly, pointing to the overhead.

They looked.

"Ok, everyone get in your new seats according to this chart!" Iruka said cheerfully. "These will be your new seats for the next three weeks."

The five friends looked at the chart for a few minutes.

There was a moment of silence.

"I think a group hug is in order before we split up to the far corners of the class," Ukon said solemnly.

Said group hug was initiated, and they spread out. Ukon was placed in the far left corner in the very back. Sakura was placed diagonally from him, in the right corner of the front row. Shizuka was down the row from Sakura, and Neji was in the back row, closer to the right of the room, and Kimimaro was smack dab in the middle.

Sakura turned to look at Ukon, who gave her a weak grin and a thumbs up, to which she gave a half-smile. _It's gonna be a long way till lunch,_ she thought, turning back to the front as Iruka began the lesson.

When lunch finally did come, the five of them instantly flocked to Ukon's corner, since his was farthest away from the front of the classroom (Neji's corner was overrun by preps).

While everyone else was getting out their lunches, Neji started to get out his bag lunch when he remembered the bento Shizuka had made him. She wasn't really paying attention to him now, but he just knew that if he didn't eat it, she'd find out.

Somehow.

So, Neji gave his bag lunch to Kimimaro, even though the pale-haired boy already had a lunch (the guy's a black hole for food, dude) and took out the bento, unwrapping it carefully.

Suddenly, he was beginning to see the truth in the bomb theory.

However, it was not a bomb. It was food. Somehow, she'd managed to make it look like a cartoon frog, with a rice ball wrapped in lettuce as the head, a large pork dumpling as the body, and baby corn for the legs. For eyes, she'd used hard-boiled eggs. He might have thought it looked cute if the situation suddenly did not feel right.

_I am about to eat an amphibian, _he thought, breaking apart his chopsticks. Deciding the pork bun would be the least dangerous, he broke off a piece and put it in his mouth, chewing carefully.

(BARF!) _Oh shit!_ Neji clamping his mouth shut to keep what he knew would come out, in. _I can't eat this! _He glanced over at Kimimaro; his bag lunch was still untouched. Maybe if he switched the lunches now, they wouldn't notice… Kimimaro had to have eaten the stuff before, right?

"Is it good?" Shizuka asked curiously, turning to look at him.

_Busted!_ "Yep." Neji gave her a grin, taking another bite of the pork bun. (Barf)

"Good." Shizuka went back to her conversation with Sakura.

Neji looked around frantically, trying to find a means of disposing of the 'food' without anyone noticing.

Ukon, who was sitting next to Neji, noticed the look and snuck him a cookie. "Here. Cleanse," the senior told the sophomore under his breath. "It actually does help. Trust me."

Neji gave him a skeptical look, but took the cookie anyway, since Ms. Hanuro's cookies were really good. To his amazement, after one bite, the bad taste left his mouth. _Whoa!_

And that was how Neji survived lunch that day: with a cookie and Ukon's vow of silence.

"Liebe," Ukon said slowly, enounciating the word.

"Lee-ba," Sakura said.

"…No, _liebe_."

"Leebee."

"_Liebe_."

"Leeva?"

"_Liebe_."

"Looba?"

"You're doing this to annoy me, aren't you?"

"Is it working?"

"Yes."

"Yay." Sakura examined a finger sandwich.

Ukon rolled his eyes, munching on the bento Sakura had made him.

Shizuka, meanwhile, was having a "conversation" with Gaara, who had appeared at her elbow a few minutes ago.

"…who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Tom Cruise." Shizuka beamed.

"…"

"Well, I know he's not your favorite actor."

"…"

"I was making a point!"

"…"

"Well, you don't have to bite my head off!"

"…"

"You know what, shut up." Shizuka turned away.

"How long has she been doing this?" Neji whispered to Kimimaro, who shrugged.

"Since pre-k, why?"

"…No reason." Neji shivered slightly. "So, are they friends?" He gestured to Gaara and Shizuka.

"The bestest!" Shizuka cried, overhearing. She threw an arm around Gaara and gave him a big, bone-crushing hug.

Twitch-twitch. "Oh."

**(Gym)**

"…And that's why I need you guys' help." Sakura made a pleading face.

Temari laughed a little. "Ha. Sounds fun."

Sakura exhaled. She had had a feeling Temari might be a problem. They were in the girl's locker room, and she had assembled every girl in her class (except Yamiko) and explained her plan.

"So, what, we just give her this stuff?" Ino looked down at the thing in her hand. "It seems kind of simple."

"Not if you know what's in them." Sakura winked.

"This seems rather immature," said a black-haired kid towards the back.

"Oh, be quiet, Haku." Sakura rolled her eyes. (H-R: AAAAHHH! GLOMPS HAKU!)

Haku flushed. In all honesty, he was not supposed to be here. Not "here" as in, in the girls' locker room; "here" as in, in this gym class. But sand-nin-gurl had put him here, so therefore, he was here. Oh how he hated those sadistic writers.

"So, are we clear?" Sakura asked.

All the girls (and Haku) nodded. "Yep!"

"Ok. Let's move out!"

* * *

Okies, review responses… 12 this time, ne? Oh well, that's cool. It's a lot more then I ever got for my other fics! O.o Oro… 

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin:** I'm gonna call you guys RLN and IHN from now on, Okies? It's too much to type every time… Anyway, TenTen's voice annoys me in the anime. She's so whiny-ish! I used a dictionary for those adjectives… I'm too lazy to think of them. And she's pretty much too dumb to think of them, but oh well. Kimi-kun is cute in my fic because he is Sakura and Shizuka's pet, dammit! Lol. I DEMAND THE PICTURE! _DEMAND_ IT!

**Dragonman180:** Dude, I would take the Kimi-plushie even if I had nightmares about it! But then again, I am a fan girl and you are not. Lol. (Feels bad for putting Neji through such suffering) Oh well. Anyway (Oo, my ramen is done!) (Eats) Yum… Oh man now I forgot was I was going to say… ramen has that effect on me. (thinks for a while) No, seriously, put in five minutes of silence here. Oh yeah, I remember: Do you have any kind of IM service at all? Cuz I wanna talk to you, dammit, you are cool! (I think I already asked and you already answered but oh well)

**xl-twisted-lx:** Ohh… I see. I thought it was from a manga or something. Silly me. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this one, too!

**Hinata's Biggest Fan Boy:** There was cuddling! Cuddling counts as mushy, dammit! seeing your name reminded me, I need to put Hinata in it more… she'll be a bigger character soon… maybe…

**Rini Rika:** O.o (snatchs Kyuubi plushie and throws Kimi plushie at you) YAY! MY LIFE'S WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED! Kyuubi: You already have me in your head, dammit.

**Kie-san:** Actually, most of your speech is rambling, too… Lol, just kidding. RAMBLING IS GOOD! TenTen had no personality because she sucks, dammit. Ukon was descriptive because he hadn't been able to tell anyone that stuff, and if you hold stuff like that in for a long time, you tend to just pour it all out. I don't think he meant to be descriptive. I feel bad for Neji-kun too… Snif. But not enough to stop torturing him, lol. Neji's mom owns!

**KageNoKatana:** I put Gaara in as a bigger character (Shizuka's friend); are you happy? I meant to send you something! I did! But I was between e-mail addresses and I couldn't. Sowwy! I WUB YOU!

**Ginka:** Jackie must die. Really, only 14 pages? Wow. This chapter took 22 pages on 10 font… hmm. Oh well. TY for correcting me… I can't really tell the difference when I type.

**Inusaiyan:** Did I punish her enough for doing that to him? Lol. I know girls in my grade who do that too. H-R says I'm really good at writing stuff like that, but I would never be able to do it in real life. Well… at least, not in secret. She's right, I'd probably crack and tell her what I was doing.

**Anonymous:** You know what, I thought of putting him in there as soon as I read your review, but he wouldn't fit in the van! (not enough seats) And… ARE YOU CALLING ME A LESBIAN? I am NOT a lesbian! I have nothing against lesbians, but I am not a lesbian! I just know guys who had girls ask them out and not take no for an answer, that's all… Jeez. Sorry for biting your head off, but… yeesh.

**Riyo Shiban:** I put Haku in! (Kenshin grin) I love Haku, too… He like, rocks! I have so many AMVs for him, I can't even count. O.o You stole my adjectives…

**LiveLoveLaugh:** SOAD AND COAL CHAMBER OWN ALL! HELL YEAH! I is glad you like it, that I am! (Kenshin grin) I tried to send you the pic, but your email didn't show up, but I will send it promptly, ok? I agree with your descriptions of the characters. Lol. Kimimaro is everyone's baby. I'm glad you like Shizuka (People tend to do that). She is always in character because, quite frankly, she is me! Lol. No, seriously, we act exactly the same. Except I don't have hot guys trailing behind me… she is so lucky.

H-R commented in this chapter... mumble grumble...


	12. Ukon's Promise

**Crimson Love**

**Chapter Twelve: Ukon's Promise

* * *

**

"I thought you were going to do stuff to her," Ukon whispered to Sakura.

"I did. I am."

"All I saw was you and the other girls giving her stuff."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well… Honestly, I know for a fact that pampering her will only make her cling onto you more." He gave her a fearful expression.

"Oh, no." Sakura smiled. "She won't cling anymore."

"…" His expression went blank. "Why?"

Her smile widened as she pointed to where Yamiko was using a small compact to apply some liquid cover-up. "Just look."

Ukon looked blankly, watching Yamiko put on her make up. "Where'd she get the compact?"

"I gave it to her."

"Why'd you give her make up?"

"I didn't."

"…Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Well, what's that then?"

"Men's zit cream with alcohol."

"…!" Ukon starred at Yamiko, interested now, waiting for a reaction. He had used that zit cream from hell before, and he could not say honestly that he had enjoyed it.

**Flashback**

"_Of course it doesn't sting!" Shizuka cried, smiling sweetly as she handed Ukon a small plastic case full of little sheets._

_**(A few minutes later)**_

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

**End flashback**

_Oh this'll be good. _Ukon sat down on the bleachers, elbows on his knees, starring at Yamiko.

A few moments passed.

Yamiko put the compact away.

"…Well?" Ukon looked up at Sakura.

She shrugged, sitting next to him. "I had to mix it in some concealer. It might take longer for the alcohol to come through."

"How do you know it'll work?"

"…Heh…"

**Flashback**

"_Hey, mom, wanna try this?"_

"_Sure, honey!"_

_**A few moments pass**_

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

**End flashback**

"It'll work." Sakura smirked. "Trust me. I ran tests."

Ukon gave her a fearful look. "Should I put Kami-chan through some acid tests?"

She laughed at him. "Of course not! That was a birthday present! Why would I poison a birthday present?"

He gave her a sideways glance as she burst out laughing, falling back to leaning her head on the seat behind her on the bleachers. "Ich mag Ihr Lachen," he stated, looking away.

"What?" She sat up again, gasping for breath.

"Nothing."

She frowned. "What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Ukon, you better tell me whatever the hell you said before I personally shit kick your ass."

"You've been spending too much time with Shizuka-sama."

"So? What'd you say?"

"I just said I liked your laugh. Jeez, not that big a deal."

Sakura blushed quickly; she would have commented on _his_ laugh, but, alas, she wasn't sure what his laugh sounded like, for she had never really heard him laugh (SNG: I actually went through every chapter, looking for a time where Ukon really laughed, and there isn't one… poor guy). Instead, she leaned her head on his shoulder and said simply, "Hug."

He smirked, rolling his shoulder so he could put the arm she was leaning on around her, pulling her closer. When she was happy, he glanced over at Yamiko, still a little miffed that she had yet to react to the alcohol.

However, he had good timing, as, as soon as he looked at her, Yamiko screamed and clapped her hands over her cheeks, running into the girls' bathroom. _'Bout time._

"What do you want to do today?" Sakura asked, looking up at him.

"Ah…" He grinned at her. "I have to train today, so I'll be tired afterwards, but we can watch movies and stuff at Shizuka-sama's."

"What are you training in?" she asked curiously.

"Well, shooting first. There's a shooting gallery in the basement. You know what that is?"

She shook her head; she didn't know much about guns or how to practice with them.

"Well, it's a long, dimly lit room with, in our case, six stalls at one end, and six hooks at the other end, holding big pieces of paper with targets on them. You can adjust the distance between yourself and the paper with a remote in each stall."

"Can I watch?" she asked, curious to see if the others were as good as Ukon obviously thought he was.

He shrugged. "There's a long window with bullet proof glass you can watch from with Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro-sama. After the gallery, we'll go in a room with a bunch of strobe lights and moving cardboard targets."

"Can I watch that, too?"

"Yeah. If you aren't prone to seizures, there's another window with bulletproof glass to the side." He seemed a little flattered that she was taking so much interest.

"Why seizures?" she asked curiously, looking up at him.

He shrugged. "Strobe lights can sometimes cause seizures for people."

"Oh." _He knows a lot… _"What do you do next?"

"Next, we go upstairs to the dojo and do kendo. Then, we do some martial arts, and that's it."

"How do you train in kendo?" she asked, curious. "Do you have a teacher?"

"Nah. We used to, but we finished studying under him, so we just have a few matches amongst ourselves to keep our technique."

"You beat the crap out of each other to keep up your technique?"

"Yep."

She shrugged. "Sounds fun."

"It is, sometimes."

"Why only sometimes?" she asked curiously, looking up at him.

"Have you ever seen Tayuya in a bad mood?"

"No…"

"Well have you ever seen Shizuka-sama in a bad mood?"

"Uh…" She thought for a moment. "I've seen her kicking trashcans 'cause she was mad at Itachi."

"Imagine someone twice as bad as that with a stick in her hand and an opportunity to use you as a scapegoat. That sound good to you?"

"Does _everyone_ use you as a scapegoat?" she cried.

He scoffed. "No." He paused. "…Maybe…" Another pause. "…A little bit."

"Why do you let them treat you like that?" she asked worriedly.

"For Tayuya or Sakkon, I do it to be nice so _they_ don't get in trouble with Orochimaru-sama. With Orochimaru-sama, I don't have a choice."

Sakura looked up at him. He had a look on his face that said "I'm-bitter-but-I-don't-want-you-to-see-and-get-upset-so-I'm-not-looking-at-you".

(SNG pauses for, seriously, five minutes. I need a sandwich…)

"Out of sheer curiosity—"

"I know it's not 'sheer curiosity'; you're trying to make a point," he interrupted.

"…Kind of. All egos aside, who would you say is better at martial arts and kendo and stuff: you or Tayuya?"

"'All egos as'—What the hell are you—"

"Just answer the question," she said before he could get egotistical.

"Well I've been studying it longer, so me, I guess." He looked at her confusedly. "Why?"

"Well, I was thinking, maybe if you stood up to her once and a while, and she got beat up a few times, she would stop picking on you and get herself a punching bag." She decided to leave Sakkon out of it; she knew Ukon would never beat up his brother.

He gave her a look. "You're asking me to beat up a girl."

"Well, not really, I mean look at her." Sakura gestured to Tayuya where the latter was playing basketball with Kidoumaru and Sakkon. "It wouldn't be so hard to think of her as a guy, right?" (**I think she's the only person alive with boobs smaller then ours!**)

Ukon looked at Tayuya, then looked at Sakura, then back at Tayuya. Then, quite suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed.

Sakura jumped slightly; startled, she looked up at him. "What?"

"That… has got to be… the _funniest_ thing anyone has ever said about Tayuya!" he said between gasps of breath.

Sakura blushed furiously as he tightened his arm around her and planted a kiss on the top of her head, congratulating her on her sense of humor.

"I thought you were kidding," said a cold voice.

Sakura and Ukon looked up. "S-Sasuke," Sakura stammered.

Sasuke looked down at them with an expressionless look. "Can I talk to you, Sakura?" He glanced at Ukon.

Ukon seemed to take the hint, since he stood up and said, "I'm gonna go play some basketball," and went over to where Tayuya, Kidoumaru and Sakkon were playing.

Sasuke sat down in Ukon's spot (though not as close to Sakura) and was silent for a few moments.

"What's up?" Sakura asked, after a long silence.

"Why did it have to be him?" Sasuke asked finally.

"…Henh?"

"You only just met him a week ago."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So?" (**What's it to you, asshole? …Whoa, I just called Sasuke an asshole… Feels good, man! Asshole, asshole, asshole!**)

"So, isn't it a bit early to be dating him?" Sasuke gave her one of his Looks.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "If you're jealous, Sasuke, just say so."

"I'm not jealous."

"Then why are you making such a big deal about it?" (**DIE, FREAK!**)

"Because five days ago, you were sure _I_ was the one you wanted, and then you turn around two days later and go on a date with _him_."

Sakura glared. "Maybe the reason why I like _him_ is because he's not immature enough to keep it from me that he likes me."

Sasuke just gave her a death glare from hell.

Sakura stood up, putting her hands on her hips. "You know what, I'm not going to let you ruin this for me, Sasuke! I like him and he likes me, so get over it!" And with that, she stormed away.

(**HELL YEAH! Chew him up and spit him out! You go, girl!** Inner-Sakura shouted, giving Sakura the double thumbs-up as she walked over to where Shizuka, Neji and Kimimaro were.)

"What's wrong with Kimimaro?" Sakura asked upon seeing Kimimaro in the depths of despair.

"The idiot has gone and complimented Ino again." Shizuka rolled her eyes, looking annoyed, even though she was patting Kimimaro on the back sympathetically.

Sakura frowned. "And she was mean to him again?"

"She looked at me like I had the plague…" Kimimaro mumbled.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "You know what, I'll be right back." She turned around, cracking her knuckles and looking for Ino. When she saw the blonde standing by Hinata and TenTen, she stormed over, ready to spit fire. "Ino!" she snapped, glaring daggers.

Ino looked up. "Sakura."

"Why'd you have to go and do that to Kimimaro, huh?" Sakura snapped, crossing her arms. "Are you that stupid that you can't see that the boy likes you?"

(Across the gym, Kimimaro felt his soul leaving him… or rather, he wished for it.)

Ino scowled, crossing her arms. "I like Sasuke-kun."

"No shit, but the least you could do is be nice to Kimimaro, since he's trying so hard!" Sakura said coldly. (**How can _anyone _be mean to _Kimimaro_?**) "It's a wonder _anyone_ likes you with the way _you_ treat people!"

Not giving Ino a chance to counter, Sakura stormed back over to where Shizuka and Kimimaro were. "I took care of it," she assured Kimimaro.

Kimimaro hung his head between his knees. "Kill me… now."

Neji patted him on the back, as well. "There, there." He stood up. "I'm going to go play basketball with Lee. See you."

"Um… Kimimaro?"

Kimimaro's head snapped up. "Y-Y-Yes?"

Ino shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I just wanted to say, I liked my flower, ok?"

Kimimaro's entire face turned beet red. "Y-Y-Y-Y—W-Well, I—Uh—Y-Y-Y-You're w-w-w-w—"

"He says 'You're welcome'," Sakura translated.

Ino tried to look annoyed, but failed miserably and instead went back to where Hinata and TenTen were waiting for her.

As soon as she was gone, Kimimaro regained control over his body and jumped up, kissing Sakura's hand. "Thank you! I love you! Thank you!"

"You've given him a reason to exist," Shizuka pointed out as the genders parted ways to their respective locker rooms.

Sakura shrugged. "Whatever makes him happy."

**(After Class)**

Neji exhaled loudly, plopping down on the bleachers to wait for the bell to ring. The girls' class (with the exception of Tayuya, who, as I said, just doesn't care) was still in the locker room, getting dressed, so he had a few minutes of peace and quiet before he had to deal with anyone, particularly the Matchmaker From Hell (i.e., Sakura).

Gaara came over and sat next to him. "…"

"Hey, Gaara." Neji yawned hugely.

"…"

"Um… What's up?"

"…"

"…Ok…" Neji was starting to get a little unnerved; the guy's expression never changed!

"You like Shizuka, right?"

"No!" Neji shouted on reflex… then something sunk in. "You can _talk_?"

Gaara gave him an odd look. "Can't you?"

"B-But then—" Neji pointed in the general direction of the girls' locker room. "Why do you let Shizuka translate?"

Gaara shrugged. "Because it makes her happy that she's the only one who 'understands' me… even if she gets it wrong ninety percent of the time. But that wasn't the original conversation. Do you like Shizuka or not?"

Neji started to deny it, but paused; Gaara continued to stare at him blankly. "…What's it to you?"

Gaara shrugged. "Because I've known her since we were three, and any guy that wants to go out with her needs to go through me first."

Neji was a little curious, until Gaara pulled what looked like a test out of his book bag. He gave it to Neji before standing up. "Fill that out and give it to me tomorrow," he ordered before walking away.

Neji looked down at the test curiously.

Gaara suddenly appeared again. "And don't tell Shizuka I can talk."

Neji shrugged, since now he knew something about Shizuka's best friend that Shizuka herself didn't know, and looked at the test again.

_1. Have you, at any point in your life, molested someone?_

Neji broke out into a cold sweat. _I'm not liking where this is going…_

**(After School)**

"Sakura, come with me to my locker," Shizuka said, looking slightly uneasy.

"Ok." Sakura followed her.

"We'll go, too," Kimimaro said, nodding to himself and Neji. (Posse)

Neji pocketed Gaara's test and glanced at the practice schedule that magically appeared on the wall outside the music rooms. "No practice today. Yeah, I'll come, too. Someone has to open your locker for you."

"Check and see if he's there," Shizuka said as they neared the corner they would have to go around to reach her locker.

"What is this, Mission Impossible?"

Shizuka yelped, jumping half-way out of her skin and whirling around. "Don't _do_ that, Ukon!"

Ukon raised an eyebrow. "Well, you guys snuck off looking suspicious, so what was I suppose to do?" He nodded toward the corner. "Is Uchiha waiting for you, or something?"

Shizuka nodded lightly. "Probably."

Ukon smirked. "Gimme two minutes," he said, going around the corner.

They looked at each other. They heard Itachi say "Hey, you're that—What're you doing? No… ACK! NO!"

There was the sound of a struggle, then of a body hitting the floor and being dragged away.

A few minutes later, Ukon came around the corner. "Ok, go ahead."

_I'm not even gonna ask,_ Neji thought to himself as he opened Shizuka's locker. "I left my coat in the gym," he said suddenly, stepping aside so Shizuka could get her things. "I'll be right back."

"Don't go in the guy's shower room," Ukon advised.

"…Why?" Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Just don't. We'll be out by the cars."

Now, this, of course, was a very foolish thing for Ukon to say. You see, Neji was, by nature, a very curious boy. In kindergarten, he was the first in his class to eat dirt, even before Lee, to see what it tasted like. In first grade, he'd been the first to put his hand in the class snake's cage, to see what would happen (he got bitten). This devilish curiosity had followed him throughout his life, and now was no exception. Therefore, as soon as he had gotten his coat out of his locker in the boy's locker room, he immediately went to the shower room to see what all the fuss was about.

"Is someone there?" called a voice from within the locker room. "Hey! Get me down!"

Neji raised an eyebrow, going further into the locker room and turning the light on.

He promptly fell over.

Itachi glared at him from where he was hanging from one of the shower heads by his belt, his arms tied to his side by volleyball net. "What the hell do you want?" he snapped.

Neji crawled towards the door.

On Itachi's forehead was now a sticky note that said "BEHOLD THE HUMAN PINYATA."

"Hey! Don't go! Get me down, you ass!"

As soon as Neji was out of the locker room, he closed the door and exited the gym, calmly putting on his coat. As soon as he was out of the school, he went over to the limos.

"Genius," he told Ukon, grinning hugely. "Pure genius."

Ukon smirked. "I like to think so."

When they got to Shizuka's house, the twins, Kidoumaru, Tayuya and Jiroubou went to their respective rooms to change out of their uniforms, and Kimimaro and Shizuka led Sakura and Neji down to the basement. The shooting gallery was as Ukon had described it to Sakura; the room where they could watch from had a long table beneath the window with chairs on it and a coffee maker and fridge in one corner. On the table there were a clip board and large TV showing five separate stalls that Ukon had described.

Kimimaro sat at the table and pulled out a Game-boy to pass the time they had to wait for the five to come out. Shizuka sat at the table next to him, pulling a keyboard towards herself and putting on a headset with a microphone attachment, adjusting it.

A few minutes later, Sakura saw the five (I'm going to refer to them as "the five" now; it saves time) go into their respective stalls, sporting ear protection and eye-covers not unlike those worn in Tech Ed classes. After they had adjusted themselves, they turned and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.

"Level 1, ten feet," Shizuka said into the microphone, pressing a button on the keyboard. Sakura saw the sheets of paper Ukon had talked about moving forward to hang at aforesaid ten feet from the stalls. "Points needed to pass: 5." She turned to Sakura and Neji as the six started shooting. "We treat it like a game so they stay motivated," she explained. "We have different levels and point averages and whatnot. You get points from where you shoot on the target."

She turned back to the screen when the shooting stopped, and clicked on the keyboard for a few minutes, bring each sheet into focus. "Jiroubou, 5 points. Fail. Kidoumaru, 6 points. Pass. Sakkon, 11 points. Pass. Tayuya, 7 points. Pass. Ukon, 14 points. Pass." She made a few marks on the clipboard while the six congratulated each other.

Shizuka clicked a few more buttons and the sheets of paper disappeared into the back of the room and were replaced by fresh sheets. "Level 2, twenty feet. Points needed to pass: 15."

"What kind of guns are they using?" Neji asked curiously.

Shizuka reached into a cabinet under the table and pulled out a black handgun. "Glock 37, .45 GAP," she answered, showing it to them. "They all have one, so they practice with them." She turned back to the screen. "Ukon, stop showing off," she said into the microphone.

Ukon turned to grin cheesily at the camera and shrugged, then resumed his shooting.

At the end of the shooting, Sakkon and Ukon tied at level 6 (60 feet) with a point average of 56 each. Jiroubou was stuck at level 4, and Kidoumaru and Tayuya were both at level 5. Shizuka kept a record of their scores on the clip board, occasionally explaining things to Neji and Sakura.

After they were finished in the shooting gallery, they went upstairs to a dojo in one of the far corners of the house that Sakura had never been in before. (Just picture, like, your basic dojo, ok? I really don't feel like describing something so simple…) Shizuka, Kimimaro (who hadn't put down his Game boy), Neji and Sakura sat down against the wall to watch, while the five paired off (Jiroubou went to beat up a dummy).

Sakura paid the most attention to Sakkon and Ukon's fight, obviously, but she was curious to see how Kidoumaru would fight Tayuya, with all those arms. In the end, Kidoumaru ran around the length of the dojo, holding Tayuya (kicking and screaming) over his head.

"PUT ME DOWN, SPIDER-BRAIN!" Tayuya shouted, trying furiously to land a blow on him. "I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU! DAMN YOU!"

Ukon blocked Sakkon's arm and said coolly, "Put her down, Kidoumaru."

Kidoumaru grumbled something along the lines of "party-shitter" but put her down anyway. He was promptly punched in the jaw. Grappling followed shortly.

"Why didn't Gaara come with us?" Sakura asked curiously.

Shizuka shrugged. "He's still moving into his new house, so he's going to unpack."

Neji mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow at him.

He shook his head. "Nothing." _I almost said he could talk…_

(**Learn how to HIDE your jealousy, loser!**) _Not that we were any better, _Sakura mused, remembering Yamiko's clinginess.

Today, apparently, Tayuya wasn't in a bad mood, because when they started kendo practices, she didn't get a chance to beat up Ukon. When Sakura voiced this to Shizuka, the latter gave her an odd look and said, "Ukon's going full-out on his defense… It's not really that surprising she can't land a hit."

Sakura went back to watching the spars, feeling all bubbly inside now. (**We have… _the coolest_ boyfriend EVER! …Wee!**)

After they were done with kendo, the five went to take showers while Shizuka and Kimimaro took Sakura and Neji to a room with a whole bunch of plush chairs and a big-screen TV. Kimimaro finally put away his Game boy so he could look through a book case full of DVDs for one they could watch. He and Shizuka (after much arguing) finally settled for _The Last Samurai_ (because SNG is watching it right now) and popped it in.

By the time Kimimaro was finished fiddling with the subtitles and whatnot (they accidentally watched it in Spanish for a few minutes), Ukon and Tayuya had come; Ukon sat with Sakura, naturally, and Tayuya laid on the floor by Shizuka.

Sakkon, Kidoumaru and Jiroubou came around the time Algren arrived in Japan; when he started getting beat up by Ujio, Shizuka put the movie on pause. "Intermission," she said, getting up. "Bathroom break."

"Food," Ukon said, rubbing his slightly empty stomach.

Sakura got up from where she'd squeezed into the arm chair next to him and followed him into the kitchen. "You didn't let Tayuya beat you up this time!" she congratulated him once they were in the kitchen.

He grinned at her, taking sandwich supplies out of the fridge and getting a knife out of one of the drawers. "Well, you told me not to," he pointed out, spreading some mayonnaise on two slices of bread with the knife.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to listen to me," she pointed out, making her own sandwich.

He shrugged. "I'm always going on about how good I am, and you never seemed to believe me, so I decided to prove it."

"I believed you!" she cried in protest, putting some turkey and lettuce on her sandwich.

He gave her a look, putting turkey, lettuce, tomato and cucumbers on his sandwich; it was one of his "I'm-saying-I-care-what-you-think-but-I'm-too-macho-to-say-so" looks. Noting it, she said, to appease his ego, "I thought you looked cool with your gun. You looked like an actual gangster."

He raised an eyebrow at her, putting mustard on his sandwich. "Gangster?" he repeated, putting the two slices of bread together.

She shrugged, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Isn't that what you are?"

"…Kinda." He seemed to be toying with the idea in his head.

They stood in silence for a while, while Ukon finished making his sandwich, before Sakura spoke again. "Um… Ukon?"

"Yeah?" He stuck a few deli toothpicks in his sandwich to keep it in place.

"I know you can't, like, do anything about Orochimaru," she began slowly; he turned to look at her. "But… from now on can you at least let me know when you're in trouble so I can take care of you?"

He continued looking at her for a few minutes, then grinned slightly. "Sure. I promise." He paused. "But didn't I tell you not to worry about me?"

She rolled her eyes, helping him clean the counter off before they went back to the TV room.

**(Later)**

"You said you'd have dinner with us today, remember?" Sakura said on the ride home.

"I never said that," Ukon said quickly.

She gave him a look. "Come on, Ukon, seriously."

"…Do I have to?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I already told her you'd be coming."

The car screeched to a halt. "You did _what_ now?" he shouted, turning to stare at her.

Sakura: (sweet, endearing smile)

He groaned, starting the car again. "Just this once."

Her smile brightened considerably, and she scooted across the seat to snuggle up to him.

He looked down at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to concentrate on the road. _I guess I should be glad it only takes a little to make her this happy, _he mused to himself as he pulled into the Haruno driveway. _Not that this is 'a little'… _he added once they reached the door.

Ms. Haruno smiled brightly, leading them into the dining room. On the table was a large plate of hamburgers, as well as buns and condiments. Ukon was kind of grateful they weren't eating something weird; he wasn't a picky eater, or anything, but there were some things he was rather wary about eating.

"So, back to our conversation the other day," Ms Haruno said, after they had finished making their burgers, "what kind of care did you say you had?"

"Nissan Frontier King Cab Desert Runner XE-V6 with VTP in Aztec red," Ukon said at once.

Ms. Hanuro and Sakura: "…?"

Ukon: (sweatdrop) "I have a big red truck."

"Ohh." Ms. Hanuro smiled. "That's very nice. Oh, I meant to ask Sakura, is Shizuka alright? You seemed rather desperate to go pick her up last time."

_Keep calm… perfectly calm… no shouting… shouting leads to cursing… cursing is bad… _"Yep, she's fine," Ukon said, grinning.

It went like that for about a month and a half; Sakura would go over Shizuka's house after school, hang out with Ukon (Shizuka and Kimimaro were sometimes present), then go home in time for dinner. On weekends, she either spent the night over Shizuka's, or went out with Ukon, or both.

However, "it" also entitled to Itachi stalking Shizuka. No matter how many times Ukon tied him up and threw him in the river, or held him at gun point, the guy always came back. After the first week, Shizuka started locking her window. When he came through the door, she started locking it. When he picked the lock, Ukon put in three new ones, one of which was voice activated. This subdued Itachi, obviously, but that didn't stop him from stalking her at school, when Ukon or the others weren't around. After a while, Shizuka started moving in a pack between classes, since packs seemed to subdue Itachi, as well. She also resolved not to go anywhere alone ever again, but, after two weeks, she cracked and had to go to the bathroom (How Itachi knew that she was going to go to the bathroom is beyond me).

"You know what?" Sakura said thoughtfully, pulling her gym shirt over her head, "we should have a sleepover to take your mind off things."

"…Sakura, we have sleepovers nearly every weekend." Shizuka raised an eyebrow.

Sakura shook her head. "I'm talking about a _girls_ sleepover, with all the girls in our class."

"Yeah!" Ino piped up from her locker a few doors down from Sakura. "That'd be so coo!" (Ino is trying hard to be nice, after Sakura had yelled at her)

Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "Not at _my_ house…"

"Of course not." Sakura waved it off. "Your dad would scare everyone away!"

Shizuka just grinned at that. "So where are we going to have it?"

"You can have it at my house," Hinata offered quietly, sitting down on the bench, already dressed.

"Cool! Thanks, Hinata!" Sakura cried, her evil little mind already at work. "Ask your dad if we can have it this Friday, so we can sleep in nice and late on Saturday."

Hinata nodded. "Ok."

As the girls went into the gym, Inner-Sakura cackled darkly. (**Oh, no, Mr Hyuuga, you're not getting out of it this time… **(insert evil laughter))

* * *

Yay! Finally done! I skipped a few months because the fact that they were only in the first two weeks of school was getting to me… sigh.

Ok, review responses!

**DreamAnimeKitten:** Lol, my sister helped me think of that. She did that when ordering pizza one time and it was so frickin hilarious… I'm glad you like it!

**KageNoKatana:** GASP! NO RAMEN? Oh you poor thing… I don't have any ramen, either… T.T

**Dragonman180:** HAIL COOKIES! (eats) H-R's cookies are the best.

**Hinata's Biggest Fanboy:** I wanted so bad to beat up Itachi… I made him into a jerk and now I hate him… (Why am I so hypocritical?)

**Riyo Shiban:** You stole my adjectives at the end of the 10th chapter… but oh well. I don't own the words.

**xl-twisted-lx:** Sorry it took me so long to update! (duck and cover) Please don't hurt me!

**Andrea:** NEJI ALL THE WAY! I didn't like Sakura that much, either… she was always so whiny in the manga, but after writing her in a normal environment, I like her for some reason… sigh.

**Kie-san:** …Whoa… I'm not even going to comment on some of that stuff… except that I am not Itachi's wife anymore, dammit! (read my profile… and take a look at my e-mail, lol) Ukon and Sakura 4eva, yo!

**RLN and IHN:** Lol… poor IHN… Oh well. Anyway. I was going to put in the thing with Gaara talking anyway… that was the whole point of the "…" but yeah, lol, ty for the suggestion. (Kenshin grin) (gives Shino plushie to RLN) Why can't you people get along…?

**Inusaiyan:** Lol. ITACHI IS A LIZARD! (shifty eyes)

**Crazytreeotaku:** Sorry… I don't read fics anymore, alas. I don't want to steal anyone's ideas. (I tend to do that, unconsciously) So… sorry! Gaara is awesome.

**Sten:** Yay! I made someone's day! (pats u on the back) There there.

**Isaac Says Booga:** Actually… Shino/Zaku isn't that original… basically everyone who has had a match/rivalry in Naruto has had some pairing fic written for them… kinda creepy. P.S.: TY for correcting me on Sakura's name.

**Strawberrylver:** HAIL UKON/SAKURA!

**Meg Haze:** …Meanie… Sadistic meanie… Anyway, the song was written by PlusONE, this band I used to be in love with… the song seemed to fit so well… You were supposed to think he wrote it! It's a feelings song!

**Jazzy Uchiha:** Yeah… ok.

**NarutoFreak101:** Hell yeah, I'm gonna continue this… wtf is wrong with you? I love this fic! Anyway…

**AznNarutoGrl-91:** Ty! (Kenshin grin)

Whoa… that was a lot.

MS. HARUNO COOKIES TO ANYONE WHO REVIEWS! (Bribe)


	13. Neji vs Shizuka

**Crimson Love**

Wow… this was a pathetically quick update… sigh… But I love y'all!

Plus I had this chapter (and the next one) written out for some time, now.

Kyuubi: Yeah like, three weeks.

Ouchies… I have blisters on my ankles… Note to self: Never go out of the house without socks.

Kyuubi: They didn't need to know that.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Neji vs. Shizuka**

**(Sakura's diary)**

Dear Diary,

That's so weird; I haven't written "Dear Diary" in ages. Oh well. I decided to start a diary, since this has got to be one of the most exciting school years of my life. When I told Ukon I was going to be keeping one, he said it was a good idea, and I said maybe he should, too, but he said "Guys don't keep diaries" so I said to just keep a journal, and he said ok. I don't really believe him (I think he just said it to pacify me) but oh well.

I just got back from another date with him; he took me to see _Downfall,_ a movie about Hitler. He offered to take me to see something else, but I could tell he wanted to see _Downfall_, since it was a German movie. It wasn't so bad, actually. Afterwards, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner; I got Tangerine chicken and Wonton soup, and he got pork Lo Mein and Sweet-and-sour soup. He let me try some of his, and it was a lot better then mine, so I might get that next time (mental note).

We hardly ever talk on the ride home; either we're tired, or we just sit quietly, with my head on his shoulder and his arm around me. Sometimes, one of us will say something, but the rest of the time, it's just comfy silence. This time, though, he asked about when I was little, and I realized I hadn't told him anything about myself when we were talking at the ice rink a few weeks ago, so I told him, and I was really proud of myself, since I didn't cry once when I told him about my dad. I'm still kind of getting used to the fact that he died, even though it happened when I was seven, and I told Ukon, and he understood, and gave me a nice, big, hug and I felt better.

Ukon just called. He wanted to know about the sleepover we're planning at Hinata's house on Friday. I told him not to worry about Shizuka, since Tayuya was invited, as well, and he seemed pretty relieved. He told me he's burning me another CD, since he didn't get too many good songs on the last one, apparently. (I think it's just an excuse to give me another mushy song –Insert smiley face-) He ended the conversation with "Love you" instead of "Bye" like he always does, and I panicked for a split second before I said "Love you, too" and hung up.

Insert twenty minutes of silence while I think about that (seriously), and I decided it was true: I _do_ love him. At first I just said it so he wouldn't get offended, but it was true.

YAY! UKON SAID HE LOVED ME!

Ukon loves me, Ukon loves me, Ukon Loves me!

Dear Diary,

_**UKON KISSED ME!**_

WEEEEEEEEE!

It was so awesome! Ino and I talked about kissing once when we were little, and we thought it was kind of gross and never talked about it again, but it's not gross at all! He was walking me up to the door when he was dropping me off after school, and as I was saying good bye, he just put his arm around me, leaned down, and kissed me! Then he smiled at me, said good bye, kissed my forehead, and left.

When I went inside, I must have looked really surprised, because Mom asked me what was wrong, and I said 'nothing' and ran upstairs and got my diary.

Oh my gosh I have to call Ino and tell her! She's going to be so proud of me!

Dear Diary,

Kimimaro's upset he can't come to the sleepover. He's spent most of the past two days when we were planning it in a state of total despair. I pointed out that it was a girl's sleepover, and he wouldn't have any fun, anyway, and he gave me this look. Then I asked if he wanted to come so he could see Ino in her pajamas and his entire face nearly exploded from blushing so much. Then Shizuka said Kimimaro could sleep in her room, if he wanted, while she was gone, and this only served to make him even more depressed. When I asked why, she said it was probably because he still sleeps in her room sometimes when he gets lonely.

Neji's head nearly exploded.

Speaking of Neji, he and Gaara seem to have developed a kind of friendship. Apparently, Gaara wants to try out for the soccer team, so Neji is teaching him some stuff, and acting like he's on cloud 9 while he is. That boy is just too in love with soccer. Oh well. Wonder how he knew Gaara wanted to try out…

Ino, Hinata and I were talking on three-way calling the other day, after we started planning the sleepover, and we all agreed on something: Neither Shizuka or Neji are walking away from this thing single.

HELL, NO, THEY ARE NOT!

**(End Sakura's Diary)**

**(Ukon's Journal)**

November 23, 2004, 3:02 A.M.

I can't fuckin' sleep, dammit. I had another nightmare, and I started to call Sakura so I could talk about it, but she's probably asleep, so I went to talk to Sakkon, just to talk about shit, but he's asleep too. So I went to check on Shizuka and Kimimaro, in case one of them were awake, but they were both sleep in Shizuka's bed; it was actually kind of cute, in a weird, sibling kind of way.

But then, I got in a bad mood, since everyone was asleep the one time I actually wanted to talk to them, so I went and made myself something to eat then went back to my room and got my journal out. Sakura told me I should keep one, but I don't really see the point.

Wow. I can make really _good_ grilled cheese sandwiches.

Anyway, I asked her why I should, and she told me "Just because," and I asked her if she wanted to read it, or something, after I was finished, and she went a little pink and said No, since "diaries are private". I pointed out that I wasn't keeping a _diary_, but that seemed to be beside the point.

Right at the moment, though, I'm out of things to write about, so I'm going to go work on Sakura's CD. I found a new song to put in there, and the lyrics are kind of cool, so I'm putting a copy in here. (And not 'cool' like, 'death sentence' cool; 'cool' like, 'Holy shit, this is how I feel')

Actually, looking at this CD, I found a bunch of songs I like for her, so I'm copying all the ones I like down.

**"Be"**

If the tears  
Should ever cloud your eyes  
If the rain  
Should ever darken  
The skies above you  
You'll be alright  
'Cause I'm here, I'm here  
And I'll turn your  
Grey skies back to blue  
'Cause there's nothing  
I won't do for you

_(Chorus)  
_Just a whisper away  
I'm closer to you  
Than the air that you breathe  
Believe me it's true  
I will never leave  
I promise to you  
Forever, forever we will be

If tomorrow  
Feels like a lonely room  
Without someone  
There holding you  
Know you'll be alright  
I'll be at your side  
At your side  
Hold on tight  
You know I'll never be too far  
'Cause I wrote this promise  
On your heart

_(Chorus)  
_  
Whenever you're  
Stranded in the cold  
Remember my love's an overcoat  
I'm here to keep you  
Safe in my arms  
Where you belong

_(Chorus)  
_  
Whenever you're afraid  
I'll be your hiding place  
I won't be late for you

_(Chorus)  
_

**"You"**

Me,  
It was always all about me  
My job, my plans, my time  
That's all I cared about  
Myself, I only need myself  
To get me through my life  
But suddenly I found... That...

_(Chorus)  
_I want, I need  
I crave, I breathe  
I feel, I hold  
I dream, I know  
I trust, I love  
You

Life, I'm just discovering life  
How magical it is  
Because of all you are  
These days,  
I wake up and I'm amazed  
How much I want to give  
Since you touched my heart

_(Chorus)  
_  
_(Bridge)_  
It wasn't luck  
It wasn't fate (No it wasn't fate)  
There's just one reason my world's changed  
(One reason my world's changed it was you)

_(Chorus)  
_

Speaking of Sakura… the other day, she called me, and she seemed, like, really upset, and she told me her mom was going steady with this guy, and I asked if she didn't like the guy or something, and she said that wasn't it, and I asked "Well, what is it, then?" and she said she thought her mom was trying to replace her dad, and then she started crying, and I felt really bad, since it was over the phone, and there's only so much you can do to comfort someone over the phone, but after a while, she seemed to have cheered up, just from having talked about it. But I think I'll go out tomorrow morning and get her something, and I'm putting this song in, to make her feel better.

**"Calling Down An Angel"**

You're afraid, it's all come down  
To this place where dreams have fallen to the ground  
Just look up, you'll make it through  
'Cause there's a heavenly being  
That's watching over you

_(Chorus)  
_Calling down an angel who will  
help you believe  
Sending out a prayer, I'm down on my knees  
Reaching up to heaven knowing you will someday see  
There's hope beyond the struggle  
Just hold on  
I'm calling down an angel

It's not too late, it's almost over  
If you'll just wait you'll feel it lifting off your shoulders  
So keep believing, the sun always  
promises a new day  
It'll stop the rain, break the chains  
And chase the pain away

_(Chorus)  
_  
You've been trying to be so strong  
You've been waiting for so long  
Will your miracle ever come  
Heaven's holding every single tear you cry  
And if you start to feel alone just know that I am

_(Chorus)  
_

Hopefully that wasn't too mushy… Oh, man, I'm not going to live this down if Sakkon reads this… I should hide it somewhere…

**(End Ukon's journal)**

**(Next Morning: Friday)**

There was no school, for some reason, but no one was complaining, since it was an excuse to sleep in late.

Well… it was an excuse to sleep in late unless you were Ukon, who got up around 7 A.M., took a shower and all that clean stuff, drank several cups of java, left a note for Sakkon, and a note for Orochimaru, then got in his truck and drove over to the Yamanaka Flower shop, which, for some ungodly reason, was open at that unholy hour.

"Hey, Ino," he said, going in the shop.

"Ohayo," she said through a huge yawn. Recovering a bit, she asked, "The usual?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But make it a bouquet this time."

Ino raised a sly eyebrow, giving him a card to fill out while she selected twelve choice pink carnations. "Sucking up a bit?"

He shook his head, getting a pen and writing a quick note in the card. "Nope. She's upset."

"Ohh… about her dad?" Ino nodded knowingly.

He nodded. "Yeah. Hey, can you put some of those striped ones in?" He gestured to some pink-striped carnations.

"Sure." She completed the bouquet and wrapped clear plastic around them to keep them safe. Threading the card on a length of pink ribbon through the small whole in the corner, she tied it together and gave it to him. "What're you going to do when carnations go out of season?" she asked, ringing up his order.

He shrugged. "Roses go all year, don't they?"

She shrugged, taking his money. "I suppose. My mother showed me a pretty way to arrange pink and white roses if you're interested."

Again, he shrugged. "Maybe next time," he said, taking his change. "See you later," he called, waving over his shoulder as he left with the bouquet.

_Lucky Sakura,_ Ino thought, going back into her comatose state. _Getting the perfect boyfriend…_ She paused, looking at the clock, then at the phone. _I suppose I could_, she mused, getting out her mini address book and looking up a certain phone number.

**(Shizuka's House)**

Kimimaro groaned, woken up by the evil sound of the phone ringing. He reached towards the nightstand, trying to find the mechanism without having to open his eyes, but failed miserably and tumbled off the bed.

Finally finding the phone, he answered it. "…'Lo?"

"Kimimaro?"

Kimimaro sat bolt-upright. "INO?" He instantly cursed silently, since his voice had come out all high and squeaky, instead of deep and sexy like it normally was.

"Yep. Sorry for calling so early."

"That's ok." _Holy shit, she's actually calling me! _"W-What's up?"

"Nothing. Just felt like talking."

"Um… ok… a-are you going to Sakura's sleepover?"

"Yep. I'm helping her plan it. Are you going?"

"No." Depression.

"Aw… There, there. Maybe you can come hang out with all of us tomorrow morning. You could have Ukon or someone drive you."

"A-A-Are you i-inviting me…?"

"Sure!" BEAM!

"J-Just a second."

"Ok."

Kimimaro took the phone away from his ear and smacked himself.

"…That didn't hurt." He sighed in depression, falling backwards.

Thud. He hit his head on the corner of the nightstand.

"…That hurt… a little…" _HOLY FUCK I'M NOT DREAMING!_

He picked up the phone again. "Are you still there?"

"Yep."

"U-U-U-U-Um… W-W-W-Well, I-I-I-I-I'll—"

"See you there?" she finished.

"Y-Y-Yeah."

"Ok, see you then." Ino hung up the phone, pleased to have known she just made someone's day. _Not Sasuke-kun, _she mused, glancing at the arrangement of white gardenias and yellow zinnias on the counter next to her that had "mysteriously appeared" in her locker the day before. _But maybe just a little bit better…_

Especially since the bouquet meant 'sweet love and refinement' and 'daily remembrance'.

**(Haruno residence)**

"Hi, Ms. Haruno," Ukon said, getting out of his truck and noticing Sakura's mom exiting the house.

"Oh, hi, honey." Ms. Haruno smiled at him. "My, what a pretty bouquet! For Sakura?"

He nodded, deciding he didn't want to discuss the reason with her.

"Alright, she's inside, I'll leave the door open. Bye, now, honey."

"'Bye," he said, going in the house.

He found Sakura in the living room, reading a book he recognized as something she had to read for Language Arts. He cleared his throat lightly to let her know he was there, and as soon as she saw him, she smiled, scooting over on the couch to make room for him. He sat down, offering the bouquet.

She looked a little flustered. "For me?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, the other Sakura sitting right next to you," he said, quoting her. He nearly fell over when she actually looked. "Yeah, it's for you."

"What's the occasion/reason?" she asked, taking the flowers and sniffing them.

"I need an occasion/reason?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, putting an arm around her shoulder and giving her a light kiss on her lips.

She blushed the color of the carnations as he pulled away. "No…"

"Ok, then," he said with a smile, leaning down for another kiss.

**(Shizuka's House, later in the day)**

Shizuka raised an eyebrow at Kimimaro over her manga. "Ino asked if you wanted to hang out with us tomorrow?"

Kimimaro nodded vigorously.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming?" Kidoumaru asked, sitting on the floor in front of the TV, playing a game.

Shizuka frowned, throwing her book at him. "That's great, Kimi-kun," she said with a smile at her brother.

"What about you and Neji?" Tayuya asked casually, kicking Kidoumaru's ass on the game.

Shizuka's frown deepened. "What _about_ me and Neji?"

Tayuya shrugged. "If I have to ask, I guess it's nothing."

"Because there _is_ nothing!" Shizuka snapped. "We're just friends! Kind of like you and Kidoumaru are just friends!"

Kidoumaru and Tayuya looked at each other. For a split second, they shared the freaky connection that comes when two people spend too much time together (SNG and H-R have them all the time) as they briefly shared a thought: _We're not 'friends' who happen to be crushing on each other._

However, on the outside, they just shrugged and went back to their game. "Whatever, Shizuka-sama."

**(Hyuuga estate)**

Neji grumbled darkly, swindling on his computer chair, wondering what kind of idiot planned a _sleep over_ at _his_ house, especially a sleepover to which he was _not_ invited.

_Why_ wasn't he invited?

It was a _girl_ sleepover.

Sakura and Hinata had, in all their "sweet innocence", planned the sleepover a week ago, and had invited nearly all the girls in their little "social group", including Ino, TenTen, Temari, Haku ("WTF?" said Neji), Tayuya, and, of course, Shizuka (There needs to be more girls… there's only, like, what, five originals?). Their excuse for having the sleepover at the Hyuuga house was that they had the biggest living room, but Neji was not stupid. For "some reason unbeknownst to mankind", he'd only found out about the sleepover that afternoon, and he was not at all happy about it.

Why?

**Flashback**

"_You're fuckin' WHAT?" Neji shouted, starring at Sakura and Hinata._

"_We're having a sleepover at your house," Sakura chirped, "and you're not invited!"_

"_You're fuckin' WHAT?"_

"_So you can't come downstairs after nine o'clock." Sakura had a huge grin on her face._

"_You're fuckin' WHAT?"_

"_But Shizuka's coming," Sakura continued, the grin Neji had grown to fear appearing. "So this is your chance!"_

"_You're fuckin'—what?" he ended in a different tone._

_Sakura smiled brightly._

_Hinata blushed brightly._

_Neji's jaw dropped. "Oh, no!" He put his hands up as if to ward off evil. "No! No more of your stupid attempts to get us together! Absolutely not! I refuse!"_

_Sakura looked at him blankly. "You don't have a choice this time."_

"…_Why?" Neji felt fear crawling down his spine._

"_Because everyone's in on it, even Tayuya."_

_He starred._

"_Well, everyone except Shizuka, obviously," Sakura mused out loud, "but she's thick as a brick so it won't matter. But that's not important! What's important is, you're not getting out of it!"_

"_And how do you plan on achieving this?" Neji crossed his arms, looking down at her with a raised eyebrow._

"_Couch, floor, bedroom, hot tub, who cares?" Sakura waved off the unimportant question as Neji turned beet red at the words 'hot tub'. "The point is, you're _going_ to hook up with Shizuka tonight, whether you want to, or not! Practically everyone at school is waiting for you guys to get together, and we're all really sick of you just _letting _Itachi stalk her!"_

"_So?" he snapped, blushing furiously._

"So,_ compared to him, you are _totally_ the better guy for her!" Sakura winked._

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU—" Sakura's words sunk in. "You mean it?"_

_She nodded, smiling brightly._

_Neji did a brief happy dance, forgetting for a moment that the two girls were still there. Realizing they were, he quickly recovered and muttered, "Whatever."_

"_So anyway, we're gonna send Shizuka upstairs around ten to borrow something from you," Sakura filled him in. "We're not sure what it is yet, but she'll come get it, ok? You just do your thing." She winked._

**End flashback**

Neji frowned when he heard the doorbell ring. Hinata was in the shower, Hanabi was grounded to her room for burning a bush down, Hiashi was at work, his mom was asleep, and Hinata's mom was out buying snacks.

Neji hated opening the door.

But he had to, or that infernal 'ding dong' would be forever burned into his memory. So, it was a disgruntled Neji that dragged himself downstairs, and it was a disgruntled Neji who opened the door.

"Hi!" Ino chirped.

"…"

SLAM.

….Ding-dong.

Ding-dong.

Ding-dong.

"OPEN THE DOOR, DAMMIT!"

"Why don't you come in here and make me?" he shouted, standing a few feet away from said door.

He heard the sounds of talking outside, but didn't bother to listen in and he headed towards the kitchen.

Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock. Ding-dong. Knock-knock.

Neji stormed over to the door, slamming it open. "WHAT?" he shouted, a vein popping out in his forehead.

"Dickhead," Shizuka said coldly, walking past him, followed shortly by Tayuya and Ino.

Neji sighed unhappily. It was going to be a long night.

**(Later)**

It was now only 8:15. All the girls (and Haku) had arrived an hour ago, and he hadn't heard from them since, but he'd never been happier to have the advantage of a lock on his door.

However, even Hyuuga Neji gets hungry sometimes.

**(Downstairs)**

"Hey, Neji!" all the girls (and Haku) chorused when Neji came downstairs, clad in plaid pajama pants and a faded black T-shirt.

"Hey." He paused on his way to the kitchen to look at them. "Twister?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep." Ino grinned at him; she was in charge of the spinner. "Wanna play?"

"I'll pass," he said coolly before going into the kitchen. "Hey, mom."

"Oh, hi, Neji honey," his mom said from where she was sitting at the kitchen island, sipping coffee and reading a book. "How are you, boo-boo?" she crooned, ruffling his hair.

Shizuka stopped in the doorway to the kitchen; she'd disentangled herself so she could come get a drink, but, upon seeing this, she promptly turned on her heel and went back out the door.

Neji's jaw dropped and he turned on his mom. "Mom!"

"Now, you know, hun, if being in a house full of girls is bothering you, I can drive you over to Lee's house," his mom pointed out.

"No, I'm fine," he muttered, going over to the fridge and hunting for something edible. _Sakura would never let me live if I just left before ten o'clock…_

"Alright, well, you just let me know if they're bothering you and I'll… ah… what's that word you kids use today? 'Bitchslap' them?"

Neji whirled around, a carton of Chinese take-out in one hand. "_Mom_!"

"Did I phrase that correctly?"

_Unfortunately, yes,_ he thought, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and a bottle of water and exiting the kitchen before she could mortify him anymore. When he walked past the living room again, he was just in time to see all the girls (and Haku) topple over. Surprisingly, Tayuya was the last one up, and she seemed rather surprised at that fact, herself, until Shizuka pulled her arm out from under her.

Once he was safely up in his room, Neji got online, and logged into a chat room Sakkon had made for Neji, Shizuka, Kimimaro, and everyone else in their social group, to chat in privately. Kimimaro was there, by himself, so Neji decided to talk to him, noting the fact that Kimimaro was probably the sanest person he knew right now.

**FateK!ller: **Hey, Kimimaro.

**BrainWanted:** Hello.

**BrainWanted:** Is Shizuka having fun?

**FateK!ller:** Yeah, she just made Tayuya loose at Twister.

**BrainWanted:** Is everyone else having fun?

**FateK!ller:** I guess so. I didn't really take a poll, or anything.

**BrainWanted:** Is Ino-chan having fun?

**FateK!ller:** Since when was it "Ino-CHAN"?

(There was a long silence)

**BrainWanted:** Lee-san said he would get online tonight, but I haven't seen him.

**FateK!ller:** Oh, no, you don't! No changing the subject!

_(FlareOfYouth has joined the conversation)_

**FateK!ller:** Why do you call her "Ino-chan"?

**FlareOfYouth:** HELLO, NEJI AND KIMIMARO! HOW ARE YOU?

**FlareOfYouth:** Who the what in… I'm confused, what did I walk into?

**FateK!ller:** I'm fine, Lee.

**BrainWanted:** Hello, Lee.

**FateK!ller:** Kimimaro just called Ino "Ino-chan" and I'm interrogating him.

**BrainWanted:** Why do you hate me so much, Neji? T.T

**FlareOfYouth:** AH! YOUNG LOVE IS SUCH A WONDERFUL THING! CONGRATULATIONS, KIMIMARO, ON FINDING YOURS!

**BrainWanted:** Please die…

**FateK!ller:** Ok, changing subject…

**FlareOfYouth:** How is the girls' sleepover going?

_(AlphaGoesWooga has joined the conversation)_

**FateK!ller:** Torture. They're sending Shizuka upstairs at ten so I can

**FateK!ller:** Er… Hi, Ukon.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** What was that, Neji? 'Sending Shizuka upstairs so I can' what?

**FateK!ller:** Y'all are on separate computers, aren't you?

**BrainWanted:** No changing the subject, Neji, remember?

**BrainWanted:** AND NO SHAGGING MY SISTER, EITHER, DAMMIT!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** O.o

**FateK!ller:** !

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Oh, hell, no, you are NOT, Mr. Hyuuga!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** I will fill you full of lead if you lay one perverted finger on Shizuka-sama!

**FateK!ller:** I didn't say I was going to!

_(KabukiPookie has joined the conversation)_

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Then what was she going upstairs for? Fashion advice?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Hey, Kankurou… what's with the s/n?

**KabukiPookie:** Shut up. Temari made it for me.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Lol, whatever.

**KabukiPookie:** Anyway… anyone mind telling me what genius put super glue in Yamiko's lip gloss?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** LMAO!

**FateK!ller:** Wtf?

**BrainWanted:** I think it was Sakura… she's still giving that stuff to her?

**KabukiPookie:** Remind me to thank her. This is the first time in years that Yamiko has shut up.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** FOMCL!

_(AvengingLife has joined the conversation)_

**FateK!ller:** Holy shit that girl has an evil little mind…

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Yep

**FateK!ller:** Go away, Sasuke, no one likes you.

**AvengingLife:** Shut the fuck up, Hyuuga.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** No, seriously, Uchiha, no one in this room likes you.

**FateK!ller:** Lol.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Go join your fan-chat room, or something.

**KabukiPookie:** LMFAO!

**AvengingLife:** Fuck you.

_(AvengingLife has left the conversation)_

**FateK!ller:** He has a fan chat?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Yeah.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Sakura told me about it

**AlphaGoesWooga:** I think Ino made it.

**BrainWanted:** …

**BrainWanted:** T.T

**FateK!ller:** I hear shouting…

**(Meanwhile, downstairs)**

"Tell us!"

"No!"

"We told you who we liked!"

"_So_?"

"So, by law of nature, you have to tell us who you like!"

**(Upstairs)**

**FateK!ller:** Ino and Sakura are interrogating Temari about who she likes.

**KabukiPookie:** (bounces up and down) I know who she likes!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Who?

**BrainWanted:** Who?

**FateK!ller:** …Do I need to ask?

**FlareOfYouth:** SEND MY GREETINGS TO ALL THE LOVELY LADIES!

**KabukiPookie:** She's had a huge crush on Sakkon since she was seven.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** O.O

**AlphaGoesWooga:** WHAT?

Neji turned away from the computer and shouted in the general direction of the stairs, "KANKUROU SAYS TEMARI LIKES SAKKON, AND LEE SAYS HI!"

Neji heard the sound of a body falling; Temari must have fainted.

"HI, LEE!" they chorused.

**FateK!ller:** They say hi. Temari fainted.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** That's just weird… Sakkon? You sure it's Sakkon?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Oh, tell Sakura I said hi and glomp.

**FateK!ller:** Ok.

"UKON SAYS HI AND GLOMP, SAKURA!"

"HI AND GLOMP, UKON!"

**FateK!ller:** She says Hi and Glomp, too.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** : )

"HE SAYS 'SMILEY FACE'."

**BrainWanted:** How did you not know Temari likes Sakkon?

**BrainWanted:** I've known for, like, five years.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Well, I don't hang out with chicks all the time, so I don't get gossip as fast.

**BrainWanted:** Hey!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Sorry.

**KabukiPookie:** I'm bored.

**BrainWanted:** Go get a Gameboy.

**FateK!ller:** Not everyone thinks their whole future happiness lies in a piece of machinery, Kimimaro.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Says you.

**FateK!ller:** …I'm not even going to ask.

**KabukiPookie:** I just realized

**AlphaGoesWooga:** What?

**KabukiPookie:** Temari's going to kill me…

**FateK!ller:** Ha ha.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Sucks to be you, man

**FateK!ller:** Hey, Lee, you alive over there?

**KabukiPookie:** Is it too late to change continents?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Yep.

**KabukiPookie:** Dammit!

**FlareOfYouth:** YES I AM VERY MUCH ALIVE, NEJI, FOR I AM DOING MY MATHEMATICS HOMEWORK AND EATING A KLONDYKE BAR!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Lol, Kankurou

**BrainWanted:** Mmm… Klondyke bars…

**FlareOfYouth:** MOREOVER, IT IS A SUGAR-FREE KLONDYKE BAR!

**FateK!ller:** Good for you, Lee… Healthy yet not quite, yeah?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Why don't you just eat what you want and call it a day?

**FateK!ller:** I will as soon as the soccer season is over.

**FateK!ller:** As soon as it is, though, I'm going straight over to the nearest store and getting as much junk food as I can eat.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** …

**AlphaGoesWooga:** That's a cheerleader diet, man.

**FateK!ller:** No it's not

**FateK!ller:** I eat a lot, just not unhealthy stuff.

**BrainWanted:** Some people can't eat whatever they want and still weigh in at 150, Ukon.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Lol

**FateK!ller:** I'll ignore that comment…

**(Downstairs)**

"Ok, blonde jokes" Sakura said, twisting the cap on the pink nail polish she'd been painting Hinata's toenails with.

"No!" Temari and Ino said at once.

"Shizuka-sama knows the best ones," Tayuya said, flipping through a magazine. She was bored out of her mind; she'd only agreed to come because she wanted a pillow fight.

Shizuka rolled her eyes where she was braiding Haku's hair.

"Come on, tell one," Sakura pleaded.

"Ok, fine." Shizuka sighed. "A redhead, a brunette and a blonde escaped from prison, and they hid in an old abandoned house. The cops surrounded the house and said 'Come out with your hands up!' So, the brunette came out and pointed and said 'Look, that man's stealing that old lady's purse!' and all the cops turned to look and the brunette got away. Then, the cops said again 'Come out with your hands up!' so the redhead came out and pointed and said 'Look, a sniper!' and the cops all turned and looked and the redhead got away. Then, the cops said again 'Come out with your hands up!' so the blonde came out and pointed and said 'Fire!' and they all shot her."

Everyone but Ino laughed at this; Ino, meanwhile, sat in silence, the little hamster wheels in her head working into overdrive, before, finally, two minutes later, after the joke was over and done with, she cried "I GOT IT!"

The girls all looked at her.

**(Upstairs)**

**AlphaGoesWooga:** I'm so bored…

**AlphaGoesWooga:** There's hardly anything to do without Shizuka or Tayuya to pick on.

**Veggie-Must-Die:** Have some ramen!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** …No, Naruto.

**KabukiPookie:** If I changed continents, do you think my parents would know?

**FateK!ller:** Yeah

**BrainWanted:** Yep.

**KabukiPookie:** Fuck.

**FateK!ller:** I'm gonna go, guys, it's almost ten.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** I'm giving you a very dirty look

**FateK!ller:** I'm not going to do anything to her! I swear!

**Veggie-Must-Die: **Huh? Why?

**Veggie-Must-Die: **What're you guys talking about?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** You better not.

**BrainWanted:** No sex!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** None at all.

**KabukiPookie:** I'm confused, what?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Neji and Shizuka-sama are going to hook up tonight.

**Veggie-Must-Die:** REALLY?

**FateK!ller:** !

**Veggie-Must-Die:** YOU GO, NEJI!

**KabukiPookie:** 'Bout time.

**FateK!ller:** Good BYE!

Neji signed off before they could ridicule and annoy him anymore. _God damn them_, he thought angrily, taking a long drink of his water.

**(A few minutes later)**

It was now 10:18.

Neji hated waiting. He'd cleaned his room twice. And messed it up again twice. He didn't want Shizuka to think he'd been waiting for her. That would make her suspicious.

But, seriously, hadn't they said "around ten"?

**(Meanwhile)**

"I don't see why _I _have to go get it!" Shizuka cried offensively for the fifteenth time.

"You know him best," Sakura pointed out, unrelenting.

"He's Hinata's _cousin_!"

"He's scary," Hinata mumbled, like Sakura had instructed her to, should that argument come up.

"He's TenTen's friend!"

"Hmph," was all TenTen said. She was still rather bitter to Shizuka, and had only come to the sleepover because Sakura had asked her to. If TenTen had had her way, she would have never come into contact with Shizuka (or Neji, for that matter) ever again.

"I still don't see why I have to go get it! All of you are totally capable of asking him!"

"Just do it!" Sakura snapped, at her wits' end. "You guys are friends, it's not like he's gonna bite you!" (**Unless he's animalistic,** Inner-Sakura pondered.)

Shizuka glared. "_Fine_. I'll go ask him for it." She got up and stalked out of the room and up the stairs.

The girls (and Haku) all looked at each other, then scurried over to the door of the living room. Neji's door was right above the top of the stairs, the foot of which was right next to the door to the living room, so they could hear or see everything that went on.

**(Meanwhile)**

Of course, it was highly probable that Shizuka had denied the request the girls had made, Neji reasoned with himself. Shizuka was a very stubborn girl; she'd probably refused as soon as they asked her to go up to his room. But then—

Knock-knock. "Neji?"

"AHH!" Neji fell over backwards off his computer chair. _Shit. _"Um… Yeah?" he called, trying not to sound like he'd just gotten the shock of his life.

"Open the damn door!"

"Oh… ok." _It's Shizuka! _Neji disentangled himself from his chair and went and opened the door.

Neji resisted the urge to stare. Shizuka's pajamas, if they could be called pajamas, consisted of red cotton shorts and a white tank top, leaving quite a lot of skin to be seen. On the front of the tank top was a cartoon panda with bubble-letters under it that said "Huggles". _So... cutesy…_

Shizuka looked like she'd rather run around school naked then stand where she was now. "Can we borrow a hairbrush?"

"…A what?" Neji tore his eyes off the panda.

"A _hairbrush_," she enunciated, hands on her hips.

"Oh. Yeah." Neji stepped back to let her in while he looked for his hairbrush. _Well, _that_ was unexpected,_ he thought, going over to his dresser while Shizuka peered around curiously.

Neji's room was rather interesting (and clean, Shizuka noticed). In one corner was a queen-sized bed with navy blue covers, tucked up neatly. Next to the bed was a desk with a computer, a few school books, a CD player and an alarm clock on it. Across the room from the bed was a bookcase, which bore more framed soccer team photos then books. Next to the bookcase was a dresser with a few odds and ends on its top surface, where Neji was looking for the hairbrush. And, of course, scattered over the walls were posters of famous soccer teams.

"Damn," she said plainly.

"What?" he asked, now looking in his dresser drawers. _Where'd I put the stupid thing? _

She shrugged, sitting carefully on the edge of his bed. "Nothing. I just thought your room would be more of a jock's room."

"You're calling me a jock?" he asked in mock anger.

"Maybe." She bounced a little on the mattress, testing the "sproinginess."

_Damn. _He turned. "Sorry, I'll—what're you doing?"

She grinned hugely at him from where she was curled up into a ball in the nest of pillows and blankets she'd made in the middle of his bed. "Your bed… is _so _comfy!"

He rolled his eyes, going to look in his desk drawers. "And now it's all messed up, thanks to you."

"Feh." She rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around one of the pillows and huggling it. _Hm?_ She pulled a small, weathered picture from underneath the pillow. She frowned, making sure Neji was preoccupied, before taking a closer look.

The picture showed a tall man with long black hair and pale blue eyes. _Neji? No… that's Neji_. She glanced at the small, dark-haired boy the man was holding, remembering the photo album Neji had shown her as he eyes took in the soccer ball the boy was holding. _Then this must be… Neji's _dad…

**Flashback**

"_See, when Neji was four or so, his dad just sort of disappeared, and no one knows where he went. There were a lot of search parties and everything, but nothing turned up. I guess it's kind of a soft spot for him."_

**End flashback**

"Aha!" Neji extracted a hairbrush out of his desk. "Found it." He turned to give it to her, but stopped when he saw the picture in her hand. "What are you doing?"

"Eep!" Shizuka jumped, dropping the picture. "Um… I was, um…" She sought for an explanation while he starred at her. "Is that your dad?" she ended lamely.

He nodded mutely.

"Where is he?" she asked quietly, even though she already knew the answer.

"I don't know," he answered in a dead voice.

"Um… oh." She looked down at the picture again. Little Neji was looking up at his father with utmost worship, a huge grin on his face. _I've _never_ seen that look on Neji's face… _"I'm sorry."

Neji said nothing as he went over to the bed and plucked up the picture, stuffing it in his pocket.

"Uh…" Shizuka sought for something to fill the silence; she hated silences. "…You… were a cute kid…"

"Hn."

A temper vein twitched on her forehead. "I'm sorry I invaded your privacy, and I know the whole dad thing had to have hurt a lot, but don't be such a complete dickhead about it! I'm trying to make nice!"

"Hmph." He glared at her. "What do _you _know?"

"I know you seriously need to grow up!"

"See?" Neji snapped. "You don't know anything! _You _still have a dad!"

"And you still have a mom, so we're even."

"Wha… huh?" Neji starred.

"My mom died when I was born," Shizuka said plainly. "She was young, and labor was too much for her."

His eyes widened. Even if his mom got on his nerves a lot, he couldn't imagine living without her. "I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." She waved it off. "I'm over it. Unlike _some_ people, I can let go of my angst."

Neji's look of sympathy and sadness turned into a glare again. "Why do you _always_ do that?"

She looked blank. "Do what?"

"Always turn everything into an insult!" he shouted. "You make it impossible for me to tell you that I like you!"

"Really?" she snapped. "Because I have absolutely _no_ problem saying that I like you!"

* * *

**Dragonman180:** (hands over Ms. Haruno cookie) I don't think Neji could handle anymore abuse after that, but don't worry, lol. He's not getting out of this in one piece. The mental picture of Atatsuki Itachi tied up is so hilarious! (falls off chair)

**xl-twisted-lx:** (hands over Ms. Haruno cookie) I updated majorly soon, dude. Are you proud of me? (Kenshin grin) I'll send you the art as soon as I get the chance… most of it's just altered pix, tho… lemme know what you want.

**DreamAnimeKitten:** (hands over Ms. Haruno cookie) I ran out of ideas for the quiz… I was going to do something like I did in G.I.L., but I changed my mind. Lol, sorry. Maybe one day, I'll think of the entire test and post it.

**Kie-san:** (hands over Ms. Haruno cookie) It took me forever to figure out who you were, I was looking thru my reviews and I was like WHY DIDN'T KIE-SAN REVIEW? But then I took a good look and I was like …oh. HELL, YESH, UCHIHAS SHOT DOWN! HAIL SAKURA! No real fuzzy in this chappie… sorry… WHY HAVENT YOU BEEN GETTING ONLINE, WOMAN?

**RLN and IHN:** (hands over Ms. Haruno cookie) Hail Neji Torture! Lol. (glomp Neji-plushie)

**Meg Haze:** (hands over Ms. Haruno cookie) …O.o Oro… Just… Oro. Oh yeah, and I did mention in earlier chapters that Neji is living with Hinata's family with his mom… Pay attention, no da.


	14. What Neji Saw and Heard

**Crimson Love

* * *

**

**Chapter Fourteen: What Neji Saw and Heard

* * *

**

"You make it impossible for me to tell you that I like you!"

"Really, because I have absolutely _no_ problem saying that _I_ like _you_!"

There was a moment of stunned silence, during which they both starred at each other, wide-eyed.

"Y-You like me?" she finally stammered.

"DUH!" shouted the girls (and Haku) from the bottom of the steps.

Blushing furiously, Neji stormed over to the door and threw it open, gave the girls (and Haku) a death glare from hell, causing them to scatter, then slammed the door shut again.

"Neji," Shizuka said quietly, "if you liked me… why didn't you just tell me…?"

Neji looked at her over his shoulder; his eyes were agonized. "I told you why," he said, just as quietly. "Do you know how hard it is to tell someone you like them when all they do is insult you and make you think they hate you?" He turned away. "…And go out with other guys."

Shizuka flinched at his words, especially the last part; however, Neji wasn't finished.

"Even though I tried to help you, that night you first went out with him," he continued quietly, "all you cared about was… him. Even though I was right there…"

She flinched again, feeling her eyes grow hot; his near-heart-broken tone hurt her more then the actual words, especially since they had been true, at the actual event. "I don't… hate you," she finally managed. "I never meant to hurt you… with Itachi… I just thought you didn't care…"

Neji turned to stare at her as she sat there in the middle of the nest she'd constructed on his bed, totally helpless as she fought back tears.

"It… it's true I like the attention and everything," she admitted, her voice breaking. "But… he's never _been there_ for me… like you have…" She sniffed slightly. "You're so much more to me then he ever was…"

Neji's eyes widened as tears leaked down her cheeks. _I made her _cry(No shit, Sherlock, what'd you expect?)

"He's never gone ice-skating with me just to make me happy," she continued, "or done stupid stuff to make me laugh… but I never told him to fuck off, because I thought you didn't care, and I liked the attention…" Another tear rolled down her cheek. "I don't deserve to have you like me…"

Shizuka hiccupped, running her fingers under her eyes. She faltered when a weight shifted on the bed, and looked up. Neji gave her a desperate look, half-kneeling next to her, one hand reaching out to her.

"Don't… don't cry," he said softly, his eyes, for a short moment, betraying emotion. His hand finished it's quest to her face, wiping the tear tracks away. "Please don't cry," he whispered again, his hand cupping her face. "…I don't want to see you cry… because of me."

She hiccupped again, and sniffed. "I'm glad…"

"For what?" he asked gently, his fingers unconsciously petting the side of her face.

"That you like me," she answered. "I mean…" She thought for a moment. "Well, yeah, you're kind of weird…"

Neji raised an eyebrow.

"…Your mother's really interesting…"

Neji sweat-dropped.

"…and you _always_ manage to say the wrong thing at the wrong time…"

Neji twitched.

"…and you really _are_ too obsessed with soccer…"

A temper-vein appeared on his forehead.

"…but I like you," she ended with a smile, "just the way you are."

Neji stopped being annoyed to stare at her in disbelief.

"Come on," she said, pulling him towards the door.

"Um… where?"

"Downstairs, baka, where else?" She rolled her eyes.

"Alright. Just a second." He went and sat at his desk, logging into the chat room.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked through another hiccup.

"Chat room," he answered, going to the room he'd been in earlier. As he suspected, Kimimaro and Ukon were still there; waiting to kill him, no doubt.

"Ooo, is Kimi-kun there?" she asked, jumping up again and going to stand behind him. Upon seeing her brother's screen name, she pushed Neji out of the way and typed "HI, KIMI-KUN!"

"Now he's going to think _I_ called him that," Neji grumbled as she perched herself on his knee so she could type better.

**Brain-Wanted:** Wtf, Neji?

**FateK!ller:** I loooooooooooove you, Kimi-kun!

Neji went temporarily bug-eyed. "What the hell are y—"

**Brain-Wanted:** O.o?

**FateK!ller:** I ree-a-aally do!

"Dude, stop it!" Neji protested, pulling her hands away from the keyboard.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Hello, Shizuka-sama.

**FateK!ller:** Hello: )

**Brain-Wanted:** Oh… I was gonna say…

**Brain-Wanted: **Hello, Shizuka!

"Ok, you go downstairs, I'll be right there," Neji said, pushing her off his knee.

She shrugged. "Ok."

Once she was gone, Neji started typing.

**FateK!ller:** I didn't do ANYTHING to her, ok?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Are you sure?

**FateK!ller:** I think I would know if I did…

**Brain-Wanted:** I don't think Shizuka would let him do anything, after Uchiha.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** True

**FateK!ller:** But I did find out she likes me

**AlphaGoesWooga:** But she actually likes Neji

**AlphaGoesWooga:** See?

**FateK!ller:** How'd you know?

**Brain-Wanted:** Lol

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Boy, the entire school population knows!

**FateK!ller:** O.o

**FateK!ller:** Seriously?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Sha.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** For some time now

Neji signed out before he could get anymore nasty shocks. Going downstairs, he looked around. "Shizuka?"

"In here!"

He went in the living room and, instantly, a cold, fearful chill went down his spine. Every single girl in the room, even Tayuya, was giving him a huge grin that said "I know something you don't know" very, very clearly.

"Sit here, Neji," Shizuka said, patting the space next to her on the plush chair.

"…Ok…" He sat down next to her, deciding that sitting next to Shizuka was probably the safest place to be right at the moment.

"Ok, close your eyes," Sakura ordered.

"…Why?" He gave her a suspicious look.

"Just do it," Shizuka said, grinning.

"…" He closed his eyes as instructed.

"And don't you dare open them, ok?" he heard Shizuka say. He felt her arms go around him, but he still didn't do anything, since, hey, it was Shizuka.

"Ok, open them," Shizuka said, a few minutes later.

Neji opened his eyes… and promptly discovered himself duct-taped to the chair. "Hey! What the—"

"Didn't I tell you his hair was to _die_ for?" Sakura cried, coming forward with a brush.

"Oh wow, you have really good skin, Neji!" Shizuka said, coming forward with a container of some mysterious green stuff.

"Lemme shape up those nails for you, ok?" Ino said, coming forward with a nail file.

"See, I told you he could be the test subject for this wax," Temari told Hinata, holding a hot bowl of… something.

Neji's eyes widened.

**Flashback**

"_What's that, Hinata?"_

"_I-It's wax… it's suppose to remove b-body hair…"_

"_Oh, ok."_

_**A few minutes pass**_

"_GET IT OFF, NEJI! GET IT OFF!"_

**End flashback**

"Oh, hell no!" Neji shouted, struggling against the tape. "I draw the line at wax!"

"It's not like you have a choice," Temari pointed out, rolling up the legs of his pajamas so they could see his shins. "…Hey, no fair!"

Neji smirked, for he was one of the few, choice anime characters that were gifted with having absolutely no hair on their legs, arms or chest, thus making it so there was nothing for them to wax.

"Ok, well, we can test the temperature on him, then," Temari said, shrugging as she dipped a spoon in the container.

"Huh? Temperature, what—AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHH!" he screamed, feeling something unnaturally hot touching his shin. "OH MY GOD GET IT OFF! IT BURNS!"

"Ok, that one's a no-go." Temari scraped it off his leg and picked up another bowl. "How 'bout this one?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"Nope. Ok, this one?"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Well, we're getting somewhere. This one?"

"AAAAHHH!"

"This one should be the right one, then."

"AAA—Whoops, reflex. Yeah, that one's good."

"Ok, then." Temari smacked an ice-pack on Neji's poor, burned shin, causing him to wince.

"Wait, what's that?" Neji raised an eyebrow as Shizuka started applying the green stuff to his face.

"A mud-mask," she said simply, putting some on his nose.

However, before they could go any further, who should show up but… SUPER MOM! Responding to her son's agitated screams of pain, Neji's Mom suddenly appeared in the doorway. "What's wrong?"

"We're making Neji pretty!" Shizuka chirped, smiling brightly.

"Oh… alright, then. Do you want to use any of my stuff?"

"Nope, we're good!"

"Ok." Neji's mom left.

"MOM, YOU TRA—Mmph!" Neji was cut off by Sakura's hand over his mouth.

"What colors, girls?" Ino asked, holding up a basket full of nail polish.

"PINK!" everyone but Shizuka shouted.

"Black," Shizuka said in a finalizing voice.

They all gave her pouting looks.

"Hey, if you wanna go paint a guy's nails pink, go find your own!" she said coolly, applying the mud mask with her fingers to Neji's face.

_Saved…_ Neji thought, Gai-sensei tears threatening to pour down his cheeks.

"Ok, fine." Ino looked a little miffed as she took out the bottle of black nail polish. "Stop twitching, Neji, I'll mess up if you do."

"Pretty bows!" Sakura squealed from behind him.

"MMMMPH!"

"Ooo, let's French braid it!" Shizuka cried, finished with applying the mud mask.

"MMMMPH!"

"That would look so cool!"

_Oh god, it's so wrong…_ Neji wailed inside; the French braids weren't half of what was bothering him… it was the fact that he actually enjoyed the feel of them playing with his hair that bothered him… no, more like _disturbed_ him.

"Oh yeah, here." Shizuka put a slice of cucumber over each of his eyes. "There we go!"

_Oh, man… _Now, all he had to depend on was his ears… and that wasn't helping him much.

"Ooo, those colors look so good!"

"No, don't put that there! We can use it over here!"

"Would this color look better on his eyes or lips?"

"Eyes!"

"What're you talking about? Pink would look so much better on his lips!"

"Yeah, we can use the red on his eyes!"

"Hey, do you guys think his toenails should be black like his nails, or red?"

"Red!"

"It's not like anyone can see them, right?"

"Ooo that looks so good, Temari!"

"Hey, aren't his eyebrows a little weird?"

"Yeah, we should fix them up."

A few minutes later, Shizuka lifted up one of the cucumbers and smiled at him. "Having fun?"

He gave her a look that read 'pure agony'.

"You are? Ok, good!" She turned to everyone else. "He's ready for make up!"

Neji went bug-eyed.

"Yay!" Within seconds, they had washed off the mud mask and were coming at him with evil little cotton swabs with some kind of colored substance on them. "Close your eyes, Neji!"

He opened them very wide and shook his head.

"Close your eyes, _please_?"

He shook his head.

Tayuya frowned, pulling a tranquilizer gun out of her back pack. "Don't make me use this, asshole."

Neji's jaw would have dropped if he didn't have tape over his mouth.

"Wow, where'd you get that?" Shizuka asked.

Tayuya shrugged. "Found it."

"…Which poor hunter person is missing a gun?"

"Not telling."

"…Ok…"

Then, suddenly, a most heavenly of all noises:

DING-DONG! "Domino's pizza delivery."

"PIZZA!" the girls all squealed, running towards the door.

When they came back, several pizza boxes in tow, they found Neji hopping the chair towards the stairs in a desperate yet pathetic attempt at escape.

"Oh, no you don't!" Temari and Tayuya held him down by nailing the wooden legs of the chair under the plush to the floor. "There we go."

Neji screamed against the tape when Ino came out with a pair of scissors. "Let's trim his hair!"

"No!" Shizuka said at once, once again saving Neji. "I like his hair this length!"

**(Inside Neji's head)**

HALLELUJAH!

**(Outside Neji's head)**

"Ok, fine," Ino mumbled, putting the scissors away.

"Here, Neji," Shizuka said, pulling the tape back and stuffing a piece of pizza in his mouth before he could say anything.

"Ok, truth or dare, Sakura," Ino said, sitting down on the floor with a piece of pizza.

Neji sat quietly and ate his pizza; maybe he could actually learn something.

"Truth."

"How far have you and Ukon gone?" Ino gave her a sly look.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Define 'far'."

"Have y'all fucked yet or not?" Tayuya clarified.

Sakura flushed lightly. "No."

_Well, that was useless, _Neji thought as Shizuka poked the pizza crust in his mouth.

"Truth or dare, Temari," Sakura said.

"Dare," Temari said boldly.

"I dare you to call Sakkon and tell him you like him." Sakura smirked evilly.

Temari's jaw dropped. "_What_?"

_What is with this useless information?_ Neji thought as the other girls forced the phone upon Temari.

"I'm gonna get you so good," Temari informed Sakura as she dialed. She waited for a few minutes. "Hi, is Sakkon there?"

Sakura clapped a hand over Ino's mouth to keep the blond from laughing.

"Ok, I'll wait…" Temari tapped her fingers rhythmically on the floor next to her. A minute or so later, she said, "Hi, Sakkon? …Yeah, I'm from school… I just wanted to tell you that um… I've have a really big crush on you for a while, ok? Bye." She hung up very fast. "There, happy?" she snapped, throwing the phone at Sakura.

Sakura laughed and caught the phone just as it started ringing. She answered it. "Hello?"

"Who the hell was that?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Sakkon?"

Temari: Eep!

"Yeah. Who was that?"

"How'd you know it was from this house?"

"Caller ID, idiot."

"Oh, yeah…" She'd forgot they had that…

"So who was it?"

Sakura gave Temari a sly look. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yeah, I would, actually."

"Guess."

Temari panicked.

"How 'bout you just tell me."

"Nope, you have to guess."

"I don't know, who's there?"

"Me, Shizuka, Ino, TenTen, Tayuya, Haku, Hinata, Temari, and Neji."

"Please say it wasn't Neji or Haku."

"It wasn't." She grinned.

"Ok… um… Ino?"

Sakura heard Kimimaro give a strangled scream from somewhere in the back round on the other line. "No, it wasn't Ino."

"Ok, um—Kimimaro, stop pulling on me, it wasn't Ino—Um… Shizuka likes Neji, right?"

"Yeah, it wasn't her either."

"Ok… Hinata?"

"No."

"TenTen?"

"Nope."

"…It wasn't you, was it?" Sakura heard the sound of someone falling over.

"Of course not!"

"Ok g—OW! What the hell, Ukon, she said it wasn't her!"

Sakura giggled to herself. (**HELL YEAH! UKON'S JEALOUS… of nothing, but that's not important!**)

"…It was Temari?"

"Yep."

Temari groaned, crawling under the sofa.

"Really?"

"…Yeah…"

"Cool, can I talk to her?"

"…No."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I said so and I'm in charge of the phone." She hung up before he could protest. "Guess what, Temari, he didn't mind!"

Temari poked her head out from under the sofa. "Really?"

"No."

Temari hid again.

"I'm kidding, Temari." Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's your turn, get out from there."

Temari stuck her head and arms out from under the sofa. "Truth or dare, Ino."

"Truth."

"…" Temari thought for a moment. "I can't think of anything."

"I have one," Shizuka offered. Temari shrugged. "Do you like Kimimaro, Ino?"

The room went totally silent. Everyone looked at Ino.

_I could actually use this, _Neji thought.

"…….Yeah." Ino blushed slightly.

(**GO, KIMIMARO!**) "Your turn, Ino."

"Is Neji playing?"

All the girls turned to look at Neji, who was sitting there in all his innocence, hoping they wouldn't notice him so he could find things out for the good of the male population.

"Nah," Sakura said, and they all turned away.

_Good… Any dares from them might be the death of me, _Neji thought as Shizuka fed him another piece of pizza, remembering her obligation to feed him, since his hands were taped down.

"Ok, um… truth or dare, Tayuya."

"Dare."

Ino thought for a moment, while everyone waited impatiently, then got up and went into the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later with a peeled banana. "I dare you to give this a blow-job, pretending it's the guy you like."

Tayuya raised an eyebrow. "I don't like anyone right now."

"Well then just pretend it's an actual person," Ino said, giving it to the redhead.

"And we're going to be looking for teeth marks," Shizuka informed Tayuya.

Tayuya flipped her off, taking the banana and putting it in her mouth.

**(CENSORED)**

"There, happy?" Tayuya snapped, taking a bite of the banana.

Neji groaned, wincing slightly.

"Truth or dare, TenTen," Tayuya said.

"Truth."

Tayuya thought for a moment. "Who do _you_ like?"

TenTen paused, as did Neji. There was a somewhat awkward silence.

**Flashback**

"_It's just, I've had this crush on your since, like, first grade, and since we're actually kind of alone for once now, I just had to—"_

"_Sorry."_

"_W-What?"_

"_You're a nice friend and everything, but I'd like to keep it that way. As friends."_

"_You like that Shizuka girl, don't you?"_

_He gave her a blank look._

"_Fine, you go ahead and like that freak. See if I care."_

**End flashback**

"I don't like anyone right now," she said, shrugging and taking a piece of pizza.

Neji wondered briefly what Shizuka would have don't to TenTen if the latter had said she liked Neji, but pushed those thoughts away to listen in some more.

"Truth or dare, Shizuka," TenTen said.

"Dare."

"Mmmph!" Neji said against the tape; for all he knew, TenTen would dare Shizuka to kill herself, or something.

"I dare you to—"

"Make out with Neji!" Sakura said, before TenTen could say anything.

TenTen's eyes nearly popped out of her head, as did Neji's.

Shizuka just raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Neji starred at her.

Sakura nodded, smiling brightly. "Yep, that's it."

Shizuka shrugged. "Ok," she said casually, turning and ripping the tape off Neji's mouth and kissing him. Neji's eyes widened and he froze, but before he could react anymore, she pulled away and replaced the tape. "How was that?" she asked Sakura.

"He's blushing!" Sakura cried, poking Neji's cheeks, which were, indeed, very red.

"That wasn't your first kiss, was it, Neji?" Ino teased, grinning at him.

He sent them all death glares and turned his head away.

"It was!" they all squealed.

"Come on, let's go make some more masks," Temari said, getting up.

"Come on," Shizuka said once the other girls were gone, untying Neji and pulling him upstairs to the safety of his room.

"What the hell was _that_?" he cried, ripping the duct tape off. "….Ow."

"What the hell was what?" she asked innocently.

"Th—" He pointed to his newly styled hair and nails.

She shrugged. "It seemed like fun when they told me."

"…I feel used."

"Well, if you hadn't stopped to go in the chat room, you could have avoided it."

Neji gave her a look. _Ok, good… for a second there, I thought she only came upstairs so she could bring me downstairs and use me as a fashion guinea pig…_

"On the bright side, though, your face is really smooth and your hair's done really pretty!" She smiled brightly at him.

"Oh _yeah_, speaking of—"

"See?" She pulled one of the French braids into his line of vision. "Isn't it pretty?"

Twitch-twitch. "No it is not pretty!"

She rolled her eyes, sitting at his desk and pulling up the chat window. "Whatever."

"What're you doing?" he asked, pulling the bows out of his hair.

She shrugged. "Chattin'," she answered, signing in.

"With who?"

"Ukon and Kimi-kun."

"Oh…" He shrugged, sitting on his bed and picking up a book.

"Ukon says it's snowing!" she cried suddenly, jumping up and looking out the window behind his desk. "Awesome!"

"Really?" Neji looked, as well. Sure enough, large white snowflakes were covering the ground. "Cool!"

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Dude you let Shizuka-sama and Saku-chan do your hair?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Idiot.

**FateK!ller:** Neji: Shut up!

**Brain-Wanted:** Welcome to my life

**FateK!ller:** Neji?

**Brain-Wanted:** Why do you think my hair is uneven?

**FateK!ller:** o come on, u pull it off, Kimi-kun!

**Brain-Wanted:** Yeah but… it's my HAIR

**FateK!ller:** so?

"Hair is precious when you think about how long it takes to grow out," Neji informed her.

"I never cut mine," Shizuka said with a shrug.

"Not even for split ends?"

"That's trimming. I mean like, cutting a few several inches off." She yawned slightly, going to curl up in a ball in the Nest. "You can talk to them for a while, I'm gonna sit here for a few minutes," she said sleepily.

"Ok." He shrugged slightly, sitting at the computer.

**Brain-Wanted:** So I said, "ok" and she just took some scissors to my head!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** I don't think even Neji is idiotic enough to let Shizuka-sama come near him with scissors.

**FateK!ller:** Hey!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Lol

_(KabukiPookie has joined the conversation)_

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Hey, Kankurou

**KabukiPookie:** Hey

**FateK!ller:** Hey Kankurou

**KabukiPookie:** Hey. Have you hooked up with Shizuka yet?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** ….

**Brain-Wanted:** I was just wondering that myself

**FateK!ller:** Uh… define 'hook up'.

**AlphaGoesWooga:** He told her he likes her

**KabukiPookie:** Wow, didn't know you had it in you, Neji

**FateK!ller:** Shut up

**KabukiPookie:** What'd you guys do?

**FateK!ller:** ….do?

**KabukiPookie:** Good grief, you ARE a baka

**KabukiPookie:** WILL SOMEONE MAKE YAMIKO STOP HITTING ME!

**FateK!ller:** Um… we didn't do anything

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Why do you lie to me, Neji? I hate it when you lie

**Brain-Wanted:** Tell us NOW

**FateK!ller:** …Um ok…

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Kick her a few times, Kankurou, she'll go away eventually

**KabukiPookie:** Lol!

**FateK!ller:** She came upstairs for a hairbrush, and somehow I got around to saying that I liked her, and she said she liked me too, and we went downstairs and the girls all used me as a fashion guinea pig and then we went back upstairs

**FateK!ller:** That's all that happened

(Note: That's all that happened in the EDITED version… -shifty eyes on Neji-)

**AlphaGoesWooga:** That's IT?

**KabukiPookie:** Dude, you suck, Neji!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** I know, seriously!

**FateK!ller:** What the hell! You guys all told me not to lay one perverted finger on her so I didn't!

**AlphaGoesWooga:** And since when did you listen to us?

**FateK!ller:** Since you threatened to "fill me full of lead".

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Yeah, right, like I ever could. Shizuka-sama would kill me if I did.

**Brain-Wanted:** Is that all you did?

**FateK!ller:** Well, no, the girls did play truth or dare while I was down there

**KabukiPookie:** SPILL SPILL SPILL!

**FateK!ller:** You didn't come up at all

**KabukiPookie:** mumble grumble

**FateK!ller:** OH YEAH!

**FateK!ller:** Ino got a truth and they asked her if she liked you, Kimimaro, and she said YES!

**Brain-Wanted:** O.O

**Brain-Wanted:** REALLY?

**Brain-Wanted:** Don't you toy with me, Neji!

**FateK!ller:** Yes, really

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Holy fuck, I heard that, Kimimaro

**Brain-Wanted:** Where are they now?

**FateK!ller:** Shizuka is "closing her eyes for a few minutes" on my bed and everyone else is downstairs

**FateK!ller:** You want me to get anyone in particular?

**Brain-Wanted:** No that's ok

**Brain-Wanted:** I'll see them tomorrow anyway

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Oh yah that's right, Ino invited you to "hang out" with us, right?

**Brain-Wanted:** Yeah

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Shizuka-sama and you are coming, too, right, Neji?

**FateK!ller:** Where?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Chinese food!

**Brain-Wanted:** HAIL CHINESE PEOPLE! (A/N: No offense to any of you who happen to be Chinese…)

**FateK!ller:** I guess so

**Brain-Wanted:** How many people are coming?

**AlphaGoesWooga:** Well, originally, it was supposed to just be me and Saku-chan, but then she invited Ino, who invited Kimimaro, and then I just invited Neji and Shizuka-sama, and Sakkon is probably going to ask Temari if he sees her between now and then, so….

**AlphaGoesWooga:** How many people is that?

**Brain-Wanted:** A lot

**FateK!ller:** 8

**FateK!ller:** 4 couples

**Brain-Wanted:** …

**AlphaGoesWooga:** We should make reservations

**Brain-Wanted:** Yeah

**FateK!ller:** I'm gonna go to bed… see you tomorrow

**Brain-Wanted:** DON'T MOLEST MY SISTER!

**FateK!ller:** Then don't molest my childhood friend

**Brain-Wanted:** …Eh?

**FateK!ller:** Ino

**Brain-Wanted:** ….

**Brain-Wanted:** Go away!

Neji grinned, signing off and turning to face his bed. That's when he found a serious dilemma: Should he sleep in his chair again, like the time Sakura and Hinata fell asleep up here, or should he risk his manhood and sleep next to Shizuka?

To have children, or to have a backache: that is the question.

Neji sighed, curling up in a ball under the covers next to Shizuka. He had a game tomorrow, and he didn't need a backache; that was his excuse, anyway.

**(Next morning)**

BRRRRRRRIIIINNNNNGGGGGGGGG!

Neji slammed his hand down on his alarm clock… or, at least, where his alarm clock _had _been. When his hand met only desk, he frowned and opened his eyes. Sure enough, the mechanism was gone. Looking around, he saw a pile of broken machinery next to Shizuka on the bed. _How was it still ringing?_

He shrugged it off, glancing at his wrist watch. 9 a.m. He sighed, shaking Shizuka gently. "Shizuka, wake up."

"Henh…?" She cracked one eye open; Neji saw it was onyx-colored, framed with long lashes. However, she quickly clamped her hand over the other one before he could see it, screaming incessantly, "WHERE'S MY SUNGLASSES?"

"Right here," he said, taking them up from where he'd put them on the desk the night before.

"Give it!" she ordered, reaching around blindly.

"Why?" he asked, holding them out of her reach.

"Give it!"

"Lemme see your eyes first," he bargained.

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Then I'll break them." He ducked as she swung an arm towards his head, still searching for her sunglasses.

"Don't you dare!"

"Then show me."

(Insert serious inner-conflict for Shizuka)

"_Fine,_" she muttered. "But you can't ever tell anyone. Promise?"

"Cross my heart," he said at once, now very, very curious as she took her hand away from her eyes, blinking slightly.

The right one was, as aforementioned, black, and, actually, really pretty, while the other one was completely white, with a light, silver pupil in the center, almost like a blind person's eyes. Neji starred at them for a few minutes; he was used to seeing pale eyes, having looked in the mirror recently, but he hadn't exactly been expecting _her_ to have an eye somewhat like his.

Shizuka, however, took his look of shock the wrong way, and looked away. "…What?" she asked in a hurt voice, after a few moments of silence. "I was born with it, ok?"

Neji shook himself mentally and gave her a small smile, handing over the sunglasses. "I don't see why you wear them. Your eyes are pretty, you shouldn't cover them up."

"I tried that, when I was younger, and it didn't work," she said coolly, putting on the sunglasses.

"Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast," he offered, changing the subject as he got up.

She grinned, jumping on his back. "Carry me!" she ordered, throwing her arms around his neck.

He rolled his eyes, but complied, hooking his arms under her legs and carrying her piggyback style down to the kitchen.

And so it was that Sakura, Ino, TenTen, Tayuya, Haku, Hinata, and Temari got a rather interesting surprise when Neji came downstairs with a beaming Shizuka on his back.

"Don't you say a word," he said before Sakura could say anything.

"Wasn't gonna," she said sarcastically as Sakkon came in. "Hey S—I thought Ukon was coming." She frowned at the younger twin.

"…Yeah, you and Shizuka-sama need to come with me," Sakkon said quietly, starring at the floor.

"Why?" Shizuka asked, frowning as she hopped down off Neji's back.

Sakkon looked up at them; there were unshed tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. "Ukon's in the hospital. He got in a car accident."


	15. Raindrops and Petals

**Crimson Love**

(deep breaths) Ahh… lovin' that 'new chapter' smell… It is SO good to be back, that it is! That was a nice vacation for me! I got the first chapter of my manga scanned while I was taking a break. I should have it posted in the not-so-near future on a website that my step dad is making for me.

P.S.: My mom got married on Monday! Kudos to her!

P.P.S.: Please do not skip over large paragraphs! They hold important information!

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Raindrops and Petals**

"What happened, Sakkon?" Shizuka demanded from the backseat, glaring at the older teen, once they were in the car,

"H-He was coming to get you guys," Sakkon mumbled, his eyes fixated on the road, "but the roads were too slippery a-and he skidded into another car that was speeding."

"Well, is he ok?" she demanded.

Sakkon didn't answer.

"Sakkon! _Is he ok_?"

"…You'll have to wait until we get there."

Shizuka made an exasperated noise, turning to glare out the window.

Sakura turned to give Sakkon a small, strained, comforting smile. "I-It'll be ok, Sakkon… don't worry…"

He didn't look at her, his eyes blocked from her view by his hair. "…Yeah."

**(Konoha General Hospital)**

Sakura gave a quick glance around the waiting room outside the room the nurse said Ukon was in. The room just screamed "depression". Tayuya and Kidoumaru were standing by the window, faces set. Jiroubou had somehow crammed himself into one of the chairs and was starring at the floor. Orochimaru was talking to one of the nurses. His assistant, Kabuto, was sitting a few seats down from Jiroubou.

…Someone was missing.

"Where's Kimimaro?" Shizuka demanded of Sakkon before Sakura could speak.

Before Sakkon could answer, Orochimaru caught sight of them and came over. "Shizuka-chan, w—"

"Where's Kimimaro?" she demanded loudly.

"Shizuka-chan—"

"_Where is he_!" she shouted, her voice cracking slightly.

Orochimaru's expression shifted slightly. "Come with me," he said, leading them into the room.

Sakura's eyes widened when she stepped in the room Orochimaru was leading them to. Her heart beat wildly in her chest when her eyes fell on Ukon, a feeling of dread filling her. He didn't even have the ability to breathe for himself, apparently, because of the respirator attached to his mouth. Little breaths clouded the mouth piece as his chest heaved up and down slowly. There were wires attached to his arm and chest, attached to a screen next to his bed, the green line on the screen jumping every so often to monitor his heart rate. There was a bag of blood and IV fluid flowing through a tube attached to his wrist. His side and chest were heavily bandaged, as was one of his arms. His long, lavender hair was feathered across the pillow, and his tired eyes were closed. It was so obviously Ukon, but, for a split second, Sakura didn't see Ukon. For a split second, she saw a much older man, with brown hair and light green eyes under the closed eyelids, and, for a split second, her mind flashed back to that night, so many years ago, when she'd stood next to a hospital bed just like this one, her tiny little hands clinging to the cold hand of the person in the bed.

Sakura was ripped out of the mental image and into the real world again by Shizuka, as the latter sobbed, "Kimimaro!" and ran to the other bed, across from Ukon's. Sakura turned, eyes still wide, to look at the other bed. Kimimaro's eyes were open, but he had an IV attached to his arm, as well as a bandage over one eye, and one shoulder. He seemed pretty alright, compared to Ukon, but what really shocked Sakura, and everyone else in the room, was Shizuka, as she threw herself over him, tears pouring down her cheeks as she sobbed, raggedly and loudly, over Kimimaro.

"I thought you _died_!" she sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck. "No one told me where you were! I thought you _died_!" She paused, sitting back slightly, giving him a good whack over the head. "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again!"

"Shizuka-chan, don't—" Orochimaru began, but was cut off by a fresh bout of tears from Shizuka.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again!" she sobbed as her brother petted her head gently. "I thought you died!" she repeated, crawling up to curl up next to him on the bed while she cried.

Sakura turned back to Ukon, walking slowly over to his bedside. She reached out, touching his hand; it was ice-cold under her fingers. She picked it up, blowing on it gently and rubbing it in an effort to warm it up. When he didn't react, she felt her throat choke up, but she chewed her lip, keeping her tears at bay as Sakkon came over to stand next to her, a silent hand coming to rest around her shoulders. She gulped at the familiarity of it, ducking her head so he couldn't see the tears clouding up her eyes.

Memories.

Memories of Ukon; Ukon glaring at her the day she first went over Shizuka's house, Ukon telling her not to make Sasuke's food pink, Ukon explaining to her about his promise to his mother, Ukon telling her not to worry about him, Ukon passing her notes, Ukon saying that flowers were stupid, Ukon singing "Feel Like A Woman" with her, Ukon head-banging, Ukon asking her out for the first time, Ukon teaching her to ice-skate, Ukon chugging java in an effort to stay awake, Ukon pulling Sakkon into a headlock, Ukon slurping ramen, Ukon smiling at her, Ukon laughing at her, Ukon running away from Yamiko, Ukon sleeping in the middle of his floor, Ukon accidentally walking in on her in the shower, Ukon telling her he loved her, Ukon hugging her, Ukon ordering at Burger King, Ukon hurt, Ukon kissing her, Ukon demanding that his baby pictures be burned, Ukon being… Ukon.

Sakura closed her eyes, pressing Ukon's hand against her cheek._ Please don't die…_

**(Flashback)**

"_Mommy, where's Daddy?"_

"…_Daddy's gone, honey."_

"_Gone? Gone where?"_

"_Just… gone…"_

"_He can't be gone! Daddy says he has a lot of work to do! He has 'respons-ee-bilities'!"_

"…_I know, honey… but—"_

"_Make Daddy come home now!"_

"…_I can't."_

"_Why not?"_

"…_I just can't, honey."_

**(End flashback)**

"He'll be ok," Sakkon said softly, so only Sakura could hear, pulling her out of her memories. "He's tough."

Sakura nodded, making a small noise of agreement. She caught snippets of Shizuka's and Kimimaro's conversation across the room while she stroked Ukon's face gently with her free hand.

"No way am I leaving you alone, Kimimaro!"

"You have to go cheer Neji on, he has a game today and he's probably depressed now and won't be able to play to his full potential unless you cheer him on."

"But—"

"Go ahead, Shizuka-sama," Tayuya coaxed, coming in with Kidoumaru. "We'll take care of Kimimaro."

"…" Shizuka looked at Tayuya for a few moments, then turned to Kimimaro again. "I'm not leaving you alone again!"

"Hey!" Tayuya snapped, a temper vein appearing over her forehead.

"Come on, I'll drive you," Kidoumaru said before Tayuya could strangle Shizuka, pulling the latter off of Kimimaro's bed.

"Ok, fine," she said with a sigh. "Call me if anything happens," she ordered Kimimaro before walking out with Kidoumaru.

A nurse crossed them in the doorway; she crossed over to Ukon's bed, holding a needle full of some clear fluid.

"What's that?" Sakkon asked protectively.

"Medicine, to help stabilize him," she answered, giving the younger twin a small smile and she inserted the needle in one of the IV plugs attached to Ukon's arm. "There." She smiled at them again. "He should be alright in a little bit. Why don't you two go get some rest? It's very ear—"

"No," Sakura said stubbornly, shaking her head. "I'm not leaving him alone."

"What she said," Sakkon said to the nurse.

She sighed, as if she were going against her better judgment. "Alright. Tell one of the nurses outside if he wakes up."

"Wait a second!" Sakkon said angrily, pulling her back. "Tell us how he is!"

The nurse looked at them. "Are you his family?"

"I'm his brother, and she's his girlfriend," Sakkon answered, crossing his arms.

The nurse sighed, taking out a clipboard. "His has a concussion, and his left arm is broken. He has a few minor burns on his chest and shoulder, and he has a few shallow scrapes here and there."

"W… Will he be ok?" Sakkon stammered, after a few moments of stunned silence.

"The medicine I just gave him should help to stabilize him. He's in no danger of dying right now, but it all depends on how soon he is stabilized." The nurse gave them a small smile. "I suggest you not worry about him that much. We'll make sure he heals." Patting Sakkon on the shoulder, she gave them another smile before leaving.

Sakkon got two chairs from the waiting room and set them close to Ukon's bed, one for Sakura and one for himself. Sakura sat down, though she still held Ukon's hand; Sakkon sat down in the other chair, resting his arms on the bed and starring intently at his older brother.

Tayuya left a few minutes later with Orochimaru to go get something to eat. The only other person in the room was Kimimaro, and he had his headphones on and his eyes closed. After a long period of silence, where the only sound was the beeping of the monitor, Sakkon spoke.

"You can go home if you want. I'll stay with him."

Sakura shook her head again. "No."

He turned his head to look at her. "Why not?"

"Because," she said firmly, "I want to make sure he's ok."

"The nurse sa—"

"I want to make sure for myself," she insisted. "I have to be sure."

He remained silent, waiting for her to clarify.

"I… I don't want to see someone else die," she said quietly, passing her fingers over the old burns on Ukon's palm. "…Especially not him."

There was another long silence, before Sakkon spoke again. "I hated you…"

"Huh?" She turned to stare at him; he was starring across Ukon's bed, not looking at her, his head rested on the cross of his arms.

"He was always _my_ best friend..." he continued; she didn't need to ask who he was talking about. "Ever since our parents died, we've always been there for each other… and that was it… Even when he met Yamiko, I always still always first."

Sakura starred at him. _Why is he telling me this…?_

He sent her a short glare. "Then he met _you_… and it was like I was just second in his book. I hated that. I wanted him to be happy, but him being happy meant I wasn't happy."

Sakura shook her head. "That's not true! You're not second! There is no 'first' or 'second', he loves us both!"

"Then why does he tell _you_ about the nightmares and the cutting and the abuse?" Sakkon asked coldly.

She faltered. "Y… You knew…?"

He scoffed. "I'm not stupid, I knew something was going on. I'm his twin, remember? I know him better then anyone."

"He… He didn't want you to know…"

"I know. That's why I didn't say anything." Sakkon glared at her again. "But it pisses me off that he would trust you more then me, his brother."

"It's not th—" Sakura stopped, just now realizing he'd said "hated" not "hate". "Then… why don't you hate me now?"

His glare softened into a small smile. "Because we both care so much about the same thing."

**(Meanwhile)**

"Have Neji's parents drive you home, ok?" Kidoumaru said as Shizuka shut the car door behind her. "I'm going to go back to check on Kimimaro and Ukon. See you."

"See you," she said, waving over her shoulder as she turned to the sports center.

It was only then that she realized she had absolutely no idea where she was going.

"Ah, man, I'm never gonna find the right place in this—"

"Huh? Shizuka?"

Shizuka stopped pulling at her hair and looking aggravated to turn and look over her shoulder. Neji gave her an odd, surprised look as he stepped out of his uncle's Cadillac, shouldering a sports bag and wearing a red soccer jersey and long black sports pants. He was shortly followed by Hanabi, who, upon taking in the situation and the look on her cousin's face, took it upon herself to break the temporary silence.

"NEJI-NII-SAN'S GIRLFRIEND CAME TO CHEER HIM ON!"

TWHACK.

_Oops… reflex. _"You did?" He raised an eyebrow at Shizuka. "I thought you were going to see Kimimaro and Ukon with Sakura."

She smiled brightly at him. "I did. They're ok for now, so I decided to come watch you play."

Neji's look of confusion turned into a broad grin. He started to say something, but was cut off by his mother. (ALL HAIL NEJI'S MOM!)

"Ohh, you're that cute little girl Neji honey likes so much, aren't you?" Neji's Mom asked curiously, appearing over her son's shoulder.

Shizuka and Neji both blushed, and started to deny it, but stopped when they remembered their little "outburst" of the night before.

"Yes, Mom, now can you please shut up about it?" Neji asked huffily, stalking towards the building where his game was being held.

Shizuka grinned at Neji's mom behind his back and mouthed "He told me!" before going to fall into step next to Neji and slipping her hand into his.

Neji: _BLUSH!_ (sweat-sweat)

"S-So do you understand the game?" Neji asked, by way of conversation, careful to look everywhere but at Shizuka and where their hands were joined.

"Sure!" She smiled.

**(A few minutes later)**

"So…" Shizuka said slowly, watching the black and white checkered ball being kicked around, "they score points… by kicking the ball into the fishnet stuff?"

Neji's mom nodded. "Yep. GO NEJI! GREAT SAVE!"

"…And it's Neji's job to make sure the other team doesn't kick the ball into our fishnet?"

"Yep. You catch on fast! ALRIGHT, YASUKE, GREAT PASS!"

"Why don't they just pick the ball up and run with it?" Shizuka asked, assuming an "anime-stupid" face (A.K.A.: SNG's Manga's main character's normal expression).

"Because that would be too easy! This isn't football! ALRIGHT, AOSHI!"

"Then why does Neji use his hands?" Shizuka asked as aforesaid Hyuuga snatched up the ball as it neared his net and lobbed it to one of his team mates.

"ALRIGHT, NEJI! GOOD ARM! Because he's the goalie. But he can't use his hands if he's out of the goalie box."

"…The what?"

"Ok, you see that half-circle around the goal?"

"Yeah."

"That's the goalie box, it—"

"It's a circle."

"Huh?"

"If it's a circle, why is it called a box?"

"…Because it just is!" Neji's mom sighed, obviously a little annoyed by all this explaining and whatnot she'd been doing for the past ten minutes. "You don't have to understand the rules, just cheer whenever one of our players kicks the ball in the goal, and if Neji makes a save, ok?"

"…Save?" (This was me the first time I went to one of my sister's soccer games, seriously)

"When he stops the ball from going in our goal!"

"Oh… ok." Shizuka turned to stare at the field, waiting for the ball to get close to Neji. "GO, NEJI!" she shouted when he snatched up the ball before one of the other players could kick it into the net. "That looks dangerous," she told Neji's mom when Neji's head came within inches of being kicked.

The older woman shrugged. "He's broken nearly every bone in his body playing this game. He's ok so far. One time, he broke his leg scrambling for the ball, and he didn't notice and kept playing. You don't need to worry about him."

"…" _It just proves my theory that he's too obsessed with soccer._

Poke-poke.

Shizuka turned. "Hi, Gaara! Are you here to watch Neji, too?"

Nod.

"Great, so am I! This is my first time coming here, how many times have you been here?"

He held up seven fingers.

"Wow, you came to every game since the season started?"

Nod.

"Are you going to try out? Neji said something about it."

Nod.

"Cool, I'll come cheer you on, too!"

Small smile.

**(After the game)**

"Wow that was great!" Shizuka cried, glomping Neji as soon as he came out of the locker room, dressed in clean clothes and showered.

"Um… thanks." He grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he blushed lightly.

"Go, Neji," Genma said, giving him the "Rock on" sign as he walked past.

"Ack! Shut up, coach!" Neji shouted, throwing a soccer ball that randomly appeared, at his coach.

Neji suddenly notices Gaara behind Shizuka.

"Oh, wait, coach!" Neji physically dragged Gaara (Gaara?) over to where his coach was recovering from his previous assault. "This guy wants to try out soon."

"Oh really?" Genma gave the (puny) redhead a half-smirk, half-grin. "What's your name?"

"His name's Gaara," Neji said at once.

"…How old are you?"

"He's 13, but he'll be 14 in January."

"……How tall are you?"

"He's four foot ten, but he's _really_ fast."

"………Are you any good?"

"Oh yeah, he's real good, we've been practicing together for a while."

"…………What position do you want to play?"

"He's really good at offense, he actually got the ball past me a couple times."

"…I am _so glad_ we had this conversation, Gaara!" Genma said in a voice dripping heavily with sarcasm. "Hope to see you at try-outs!"

Gaara: Small grin.

"We're going out for pizza, Shizuka honey and Gaara dear, do you two want to come?" Neji's mom asked, smiling at them.

"Sure!" Shizuka said, smiling brightly.

**(At the random Pizza Parlor)**

"Oh my, we certainly have a lot of people with us," Neji's mom said, after doing a head count.

Shizuka shrugged. "It's only eight people. Whenever we go anywhere, we have at least ten."

"Ten?" Neji raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah: me, Kimimaro, Tayuya, Kidoumaru, Sakkon, Ukon, Jiroubou, Daddy, Kabuto-san, and Sakura is usually with us. That's ten all together."

"I'm just surprised you did the math that quickly…"

"Shut up!"

"Are they seriously together?" Hinata's Mom as Neji's Mom.

"…I think so." Neji's mom scratched her chin thoughtfully.

The waiter seated them in the funky cool party room with a nice big round table (Fanciest pizza parlor I ever seen) and left for a few minutes so they could decide on their drinks.

"I'm going to call Kimimaro really quick to see if he's ok," Shizuka said, getting up and taking out her cell phone. "If the waiter person comes back, tell them I want Sprite."

"Ok," Neji said, taking a subconscious mental note while he looked over the menu.

Shizuka went into one of the stalls in the girls' bathroom and took her phone out. It rang a few times before Kimimaro picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Kimi-kun!"

"Hi, Shizuka. How was the game?"

"We won, five to nothing or whatever."

"Wow, that's really good. Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah, it actually looks kind of fun. Well, you know, if you don't mind getting all icky and stuff."

"It's good that you cheered him on. Are you still at the sports center?"

"No, we went out for pizza, all of us. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll visit you again before we have to go home for bed."

"Alright, I'll tell Orochimaru when I see him. You should go back to your table though, it's rude to keep people waiting when you're not buying."

"Ok. I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye."

When Shizuka got back to the table, the waiter was just leaving. "I ordered you a Sprite like you asked," Neji said with a nice, proud air, pleased that he had remembered.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, as Neji surprised nearly everyone at the table (except Gaara, who, by laws of nature, does not get surprised) by pulling her chair out for her.

"Oh yeah, Hiashi-oji-san, Coach asked if we could have the team party at our house again this year, and I said I'd ask you and tell him tomorrow at school," Neji said, glaring at Hanabi as she snickered at him behind her hand.

"When will it be?"

"This Saturday. But we can have it at Kiba's if you don't want it at our house."

"I guess it would be alright. Just make sure they don't trash the house like last time."

"…That was Lee."

"What's a team party?" Shizuka asked curiously.

"Just when the JV team gets together to hang out. We do it every once and a while," Neji explained, closing his menu. "I'm not sure what I want…"

"Can you and I get the stuffed crust thing and share it?" Shizuka asked, pointing to a picture. "It only comes in large, and I don't think I could eat that much."

_Whoa, I seriously thought she was going to get rabbit food or something… _"Sure, that's fine." He gave her a grin before turning to Gaara. "What do you want, Gaara?"

"…"

"He wants buffalo wings," Shizuka said confidently.

Neji gave Gaara a look out of the corner of his eye. Gaara pointed to the pan pizza. _Thought so… I shouldn't say anything though, he probably wants to scare her later in life. _

"So, Shizuka honey, how are you doing in school?" Neji's mom asked.

"Um… report cards come out tomorrow," Shizuka said, looking slightly annoyed. "I probably have a few C's at the most."

"That's not true, you have an A in Kakashi's class," Neji said.

"Only because he doesn't care, and passes everyone."

"…Heh." _Who can argue with such sound logic?_

"Hanabi, you be sure and bring your report card home and not burn it on the bus like last time, alright?" Hiashi said firmly, closing his menu.

"Ha ha, I tried that once," Shizuka said with a laugh. "Kidoumaru told on me, though. My teachers at my old school sent mine home via snail mail after that."

"Did you get in trouble?" Hanabi asked curiously, turning wide eyes on Shizuka.

"Kind of. I had to do extra work for one of my teachers, and I got kicked off the bus for using arson, so now we get driven by our drivers." Shizuka shrugged.

"What's 'arson'?" Hanabi asked, eyes even wider.

"You don't need to know," every Hyuuga at the table said before Shizuka could answer.

**(-oOo-)**

Kimimaro was released from the hospital the day after he arrived, because his wounds weren't serious. Ukon, however, had to stay, because of his broken arm and concussion. Every day, Sakura had a schedule to follow: wake up, go to school, go over Shizuka's after school, have Sakkon drive her to the hospital, have dinner at the hospital, come home in time for bed, repeat process. Most people would have cracked and stayed away, but not Sakura. Every day, she went to visit Ukon, in hopes that he would wake up.

"I hate waiting," Sakkon muttered after a week and a half, coming back in the room with four cans of soda. He gave one to Sakura, and one to Kimimaro and Shizuka, who were visiting, as well, that day, and kept the other for himself.

"Believe in modern medicine," Sakura said with a smile, taking the soda. "Besides, you said so yourself, he's tough, right?" She popped open the can, taking a sip as she held Ukon's hand with her free one.

"Yeah, you're right." Sakkon braced his feet against Ukon's bed and tipped it back on its back legs. "I still hate waiting."

"…That's not safe, Sakkon…"

"Huh—AAH!" Sakkon's chair fell backwards, taking him with it. He quickly scrambled up, ignoring the spilled soda on his shirt. "Ukon!"

Sakura whirled around, eyes wide. Ukon blinked up at her tiredly over the respirator. She paused, lower lip trembling, then threw herself at him, sobbing loudly. "Ukon!"

"O-Ow… Sakura… you're hurting me…"

"S-Sorry!" She backed off slightly, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"I'd hug you but… I can't feel my arm," Ukon explained; his voice was quiet and slightly strained, but it was a voice, and that's all that mattered right now.

"The nurse said you broke it," Sakkon supplied, being far too manly to hug his brother in public.

"…Again?" Ukon raised an eyebrow.

"No it's the left one this time," Sakkon answered with a grin.

"'_This _time'?" Sakura repeated.

"I've broken just about every bone in my body," Ukon answered, strength returning to his voice little by little. "From sports mostly."

"I _told_ you lacrosse was dangerous," Sakkon said, rolling his eyes.

"_You_ were the one who broke it!" Ukon cried.

"…No I didn't."

"Yes, you did!"

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did.

"Can you not have one of your twin arguments now?" Sakura said, even though it was kind of amusing.

"I wasn't responsible for the broken leg, though," Sakkon muttered.

"What happened with the leg?" Sakura asked curiously.

"…Swimming accident," Ukon said with a grin.

"I told you to make sure there was water in the pool before you jumped in," Sakkon said with a grin.

Ukon's eyebrow twitched.

Sakura just giggled quietly, holding Ukon's hand, even if it was broken. _Ukon by himself is funny enough… but with Sakkon, they're just hilarious…_

"Hey, you're awake!" Kimimaro said suddenly, taking off his head phones and grinning at Ukon. Shizuka took hers off, as well, looking confused until she saw Ukon awake, then she grinned, as well.

"You're in here, too?" Ukon asked, struggling to look at Kimimaro over his respirator.

"Nope, I got released a while ago since I only got a few minor injuries," Kimimaro reassured him.

"Sorry, man." Ukon closed his eyes, taking a few breaths. "Do you guys know when I can get out of here?"

"Not really," Sakkon said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "The nurse would know. Want me to go tell her you're awake?"

"Sure, and…" Ukon grinned lightly. "Could you get me some food? I'm starving."

Sakkon grinned, as well. "Sure."

Once Sakkon was gone, Ukon turned to Shizuka. "Where's Neji? I thought he'd be with you?"

She shook her head. "He's with Gaara at soccer try-outs. He said he'd call me when he was done, though." As if on cue, her cell phone rang in her pocket. "See?" She took it out. "Hello?"

No answer.

"…Hello?"

"…"

"Oh, hi, Gaara! Are try-outs over?"

"…"

"Did you make it?"

"…"

"Well, it'll be posted soon, right?"

"…"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure—"

"Shizuka?"

"Neji?"

"Yeah, we're on our way home. Can you still come over?"

"Yep. I'll be there in a bit, Ukon just woke up so I have to convince Sakkon to take me."

"We could pick you u—"

"No, that's fine," Shizuka said quickly.

**Flashback**

"_Oh, my, dearie, Neji honey really does like you, doesn't he?" Neji's mom chirped as she crossed the intersection. "Ohh, I'm so glad he finally found someone! You really are a little cutie, aren't you? You know, when I was your age, I had pretty boys hanging all over me, too. Don't you just love it? Now you make sure you call Neji honey when you get home so he doesn't worry, alright?"_

_And she went on… and on… and on…_

**End flashback**

"Sakkon will drive me," Shizuka said firmly.

"Ok, see you in a bit, then."

"Sakkon, drive me over to Neji's," Shizuka said when aforementioned reentered the room with a nurse, pocketing her cell phone.

He turned to look at her.

"…Drive me over to Neji's, _please_?" PUPPY-DOG EYES!

"Alright fine." Sakkon rolled his eyes and taking out his keys. "How far is it to Neji's?"

"About ten minutes, driving," Shizuka answered, getting up and grabbing her CD player.

"We'll be there in five," Sakkon said with a maniac glint in his eye.

"…Huh?"

**-oOo-**

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! SAKKON, SLOW DOWN!" Shizuka shrieked, clinging to the armrests.

"GET OUTTA THE WAY, DUMBASSES!" Sakkon shouted at the slower-moving cars in the road. "I AIN'T AFRAID TO RUN YOU OVER!"

_Oh, god, I forgot about his road rage…_ Shizuka said a quickly prayer. _Kimimaro, if I die, you get my video games, manga… _

"GET THE HELL OUT OF THE ROAD, YOU FUCKIN' PEDESTRIANS!"

…_Sakura gets my clothes…_

"OH, FLICK ME OFF, WILL YOU?"

_...Ukon gets my CDs…_

"Ok, we're here," Sakkon said pleasantly, pulling into the Hyuuga driveway.

"LAND!" Shizuka sobbed, throwing herself out of the car and onto the ground by the driveway, not caring about the snow. (Hee hee… _Apprentice_ references…)

"Ok, have fun, see you later, bye," Sakkon said, reaching over and closing the door as he pulled back out of the driveway.

"You're looking strangely… wind-blown," Neji said when Shizuka came in.

She gave him a look that read pure terror.

"Ok, you don't have to explain." He shrugged. "Gaara's in the shower, he'll be down in a few minutes."

"Ok." She stood up on tip toe, getting ready to kiss him, but stopped. "Wait, where's Hanabi?"

"…Nowhere," he said innocently, leaning down to kiss her.

**(Meanwhile)**

"MMMMPH!" Hanabi screamed against the gag in her mouth, struggling against the rope that kept her cocooned to the railing in her closet.

* * *

YOSH!

Review responses: (Holy fizzle, **_17_**?)

**DreamAnimeKitten:** I love doing cliffhangers… sorry. They bring in more reviews, see? (Muhahaha I have you all right where I want you!)

**Dragonman180:** How could I let Ukon die? Seriously, let's think about this for a second. (thinks) I COULDN'T! Gah! I nearly did, though… People would have attacked me if I did (shifty eyes). I'm glad you liked the make-over. When I first wrote the chapter, it wasn't in it, but since so many people wanted it, I put it in. (Kenshin grin)

**xl-twisted-lx:** O.o DON'T PANIC!

**A random student:** Oro! I remember you! O.o You were in a car accident, too? Dude, that sucks! Pssh, who cares about Sasuke?

**RLN and IHN:** (Kenshin grin) Yes. I love cliff hangers. …well, actually, I love writing them… I hate it when other fics have them. (How that works out is beyond me)

**KageNoKatana:** Poor Shukaku… (stabs him) WHAT YOU MEAN, "OH WELL"? UKON COULD HAVE DIED!

**Kie-san:** O.o No Neji plushie for me…? Nuuu…. T.T … You don't know what a blow-job is? Dude, you suck! Oh well… not gonna comment on the rest of the review… as I said before, I do not talk about what will happen in the future of my fics. Don't want to disappoint, but don't want to ruin it either, no da!

**Crazytreeotaku:** O.o YOU KNOW WHERE I LIVE? DAMMIT. Don't tell Kie-san… she wants to kill me, that she does. (sweatdrop)

**AlphaC:** Oh well… the mood was too perky and I was slightly depressed when I wrote it. (Kenshin grin)

**Epuneyujah:** Yes. I am evil. Fear me.

**Meg Haze:** Not that much fluff now, but there will be, no fears!

**Riyo Shiban:** Ukon-pun? The fuck? Oh well… DON'T CRY! ….Please review? Oro?

**AznNarutoGrl-91:** Oh hellz, yes… (Kenshin grin)

**Ginka:** I TORTURE YOU BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, THAT I DO! Lol, j.k. If it makes you feel any better, everyone else had to go through it, too.

**Jazzy Uchiha:** Read above chapter.

**Flaming Sakura:** O.o Whoa… (takes deep breaths) Long review. Ok, I shall try to respond to all points made. Um… I'm very glad you like it! I just e-mailed you the pictures before I posted this so I hope you enjoy them. (I have better pix if you want them) RAMMSTEIN IS AWESOME! OH, SO VERY AWESOME! I know how you felt with the reviewing, but I'm glad you stayed true to your word and reviewed all the other chapters, too! It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! And yes, it is an anime music video, dearie (No one will think you're stupid, it took me forever to figure it out, too). I love cliffies, that I do! And, you don't have to read _Apprentice. _This fic was written so that people who haven't read _Apprentice _can still read about Shizuka and all them and enjoy it. You don't need to read it, although I think you might enjoy it… MIGHT being the key phrase. It's very angsty so watch out. WEE! I AM ON SOMEONE'S FAVORITE LIST! (happy face)

**Bs:** Honey, I don't give a damn if I kill Sasuke off. I really don't. I hate his guts. Sorry. I don't mean to be mean if he is your favorite character.


	16. Away From Me

**Crimson Love**

This one is sorry for taking so long to update! This chapter was very hard to write! And it is not even that long, either! Y.Yx

…and yes, this one is on a Kenshin streak again. Why, you may ask? Because this one spent two hours discussing the poor English lip synching in the anime. This one hopes it does not confuse you!

P.S.: This one cried as she was writing this chapter. It is a song-chapter for "Away From Me" by Evanescence. Also, if some text is centered during the song, please note it is intentional, as it makes it easier to read the lyrics and story in synch.

Enjoy! (Kenshin grin)

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Away From Me**

Kimimaro yawned hugely, cracking his neck. It was a nasty habit, but he didn't care. When you gotta crack your neck, you gotta crack your neck. It's just a fact.

And of course, after that, he had to crack his back, and his fingers, and his toes, and anything else that could be cracked without breaking.

"Eww… that's nasty…"

Kimimaro yelped, nearly tumbling out of his chair. "I-Ino-chan…" he stammered, blushing furiously.

Ino smiled brightly at him, standing in the doorway to his room. "The door guy let me in."

"Um… oh." Kimimaro twiddled his thumbs, starring at his hands and willing his face to go back to its natural color.

"It took me a while to convince him that I knew you from school, but he let me in eventually."

"I-I could talk to him, i-if you want… I-I could order h-him to—"

"No, that's ok, I'm sure he'll recognize me now." Ino smiled at him, sitting on the corner of his bed. "These are for you, by the way," she added, holding out a bouquet of white roses.

Kimimaro starred at them.

"I wasn't sure what color you liked, so I picked white, to match your hair." Ino smiled as he took them carefully.

"…E-E-Excuse me for a moment." Kimimaro turned away slightly and slapped himself.

Ino watched with a confused little smile as Kimimaro slapped himself repeatedly on both sides of his face. After a few long moments of silence during which Kimimaro sobbed Gai-sensei tears that Ino couldn't see because his head was turned, he turned around again.

"T-Thank you, I-Ino-chan," he said, ignoring the red hand prints on his cheeks.

"You're welcome." She gave him her "aren't-I-cute" smile, and was pleased to see that she got a better reaction from him then she ever did with Sasuke. "Is Ukon alright? I heard you both got put in the hospital…"

"H-He's coming home today, even though t-the nurses said he sh-should stay longer…" Kimimaro starred at the flowers in his hands, furious with himself for acting like a stuttering idiot.

"Is Sakura alright?"

"Sh-she's very happy that he's alright…" _Damn it, damn it, damn it!_

There was a long silence, during which neither spoke, and, for once in her life, Ino fumbled for words.

"Um… Kimimaro?"

"Y-Yes?"

"…Why do you like me?"

Kimimaro's entire face turned beet-red. "W-W-W-W-W-What?" he squeaked.

"Well, I mean, just two or three days after I met you for the first time, you told me you liked my eyes, and gave me a flower." She blushed lightly. "I'm not trying to be full of it, I just want to know what made you so sure, so soon."

Kimimaro took several long, deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down from the nasty shock he'd just gotten. When his face returned to its natural color, he sat, totally silent, for a few minutes, trying to sort his thoughts.

He took a stab at trying to explain. "W-When I f-first saw you, i-in Social Studies class, I, um…" He blushed furiously while Ino had a sudden realization that Kimimaro was, indeed, in her Social Studies class. "I-I thought y-you w-were, um… v-very p-p-pretty and, um… s-smart, too… a-and I-I also t-thought y-you were v-very k-kind, as well, w-when I-I saw you i-in Gym c-class w-with H-Hinata-san…" If Kimimaro's face had been beet red before, the color it was now would probably be along the lines of "royal red" or "cherry". "S-S-S-So…. I-I guess t-that's why…" He twiddled his fingers around Hinata-style in the ribbon around the bouquet.

Ino starred at him, then at the floor, then back up at him again, feeling very guilty indeed. "I'm sorry for being so mean to you all the time," she said quietly, starring at the floor again.

He starred at her in shock for a full ten minutes before she spoke again.

"It's just that, I've always liked Sasuke-kun, so if other guys liked me, I would always push them away… so I'm so—"

"Y-You don't have to apologize!" Kimimaro blurted out, eyes wide, slightly bewildered by her statements. "I-I mean… um…" He starred at the flowers again when she looked up at him. "I-I don't really… mind i-if you like Uchiha… I'd l-like for you to be happy, s-so, if being with Uchiha makes you h-happy, then I-I guess I'm happy… Um…" He gulped. "J-Just… c-c-can we b-be… friends?" He looked up at her shyly.

"Of course!" she said with a broad smile.

His olive-colored eyes widened to the point where she could see the whites all around, and his cheeks flushed. "R-R-Really?"

She nodded, her smile brightening. "Sure!" She stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt. "I have to go back to the shop now, ok?"

"Um, o-ok, d-do you want me t-to show you out?"

She shook her head. "No, I remember the way. But!" She smirked at him. "As soon as you're well enough, you and I are going to hang out, alright? I'm not taking 'no' for an answer!"

**(Inside Kimimaro's Head)**

HALLELUJAH!

**(Outside Kimimaro's Head)**

"T-T-T-T-T-That w-w-would b-b-b—"

"Nice?" she finished, smirking at him.

He nodded vigorously.

Ino smiled as she walked out of his room and down the hall, pleased with herself that she had made him that happy, that easily.

Once he was sure Ino had left the house, Kimimaro jumped nearly five feet in the air, screaming at the top of his lungs.

**(Hyuuga Estate place)**

"Hi, Gaara!" Shizuka chirped from where she was curled into a ball next to Neji on the couch, watching a random movie.

"…"

"Oh, yeah, I brought you something!" she said, suddenly remembering as she started searching her pockets. "…Er."

Neji raised an eyebrow as she got up to pat her pockets and clothes.

"Ah—!" She frowned, looking around. "I must have dropped them when I fell on the ground. I'll be right back."

"Dropped what?" Neji asked curiously.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," she said with a smirk before disappearing out the door.

"…It better not be buffalo wing coupons again," Gaara said in a deadly voice, settling himself in the over-stuffed chair.

"You don't like them?"

Gaara gave him a look that read "ultimate hatred".

"…Ah. How long has she been giving them to you?"

"Since I was five."

"Yeah, I'd get sick of them by then, too."

"I'm not sick of them," Gaara muttered. "Poultry is evil, that's all."

"I don't have anything against birds, so I can't really comment on that comment." (I didn't realize until after I wrote this chapter out, that this comment of his is kind of funny if you think about his fetish with birds)

Meanwhile, outside, Shizuka was digging through the snow by the driveway, utterly pissed off at herself. "Dammit, I swear I put those tickets in my pocket!" she said angrily, throwing snow over her shoulder as she dug, looking for the slips of paper. "If I don't find them, I swear, heads are going to r—"

"Talking to one's self unintentionally is considered dangerous."

She whipped around, her guard instantly going up. Itachi smirked at her, leaning against the lamp post at the end of the driveway. In one hand, he had a cigarette; in the other he held the three tickets she was so determinedly trying to find, in an almost taunting manner.

"Hello, love," he said with the familiar smirk.

She just glared, although she shivered unconsciously, and it wasn't from the snow.

"Looking for these?" He waved the tickets around.

"Durr," she said coolly. "Give 'em."

"I will, love, I will." He smirked, pushing himself off the lamp post and taking a few steps towards her. "But first…"

She gulped as he closed the distance between them, his face barely an inch away from hers.

"…You'll go on another rendezvous with me." His smirk widened as he put a finger under her chin.

She glared, knocking the cigarette out of his hand, which was the hand of the finger under her chin. "Not a chance in hell, asshole. Your dates suck worse then your bribes."

Itachi frowned, lashing out, his hand connecting with the side of her face.

She blinked, eyes wide, reaching up to feel the slap mark.

"I've had enough of your insults," he growled. "It's pissing me off now. You shut up before you get more then a little slap."

_A 'little' slap? _Shizuka chewed her lip; she'd never really been slapped before, but she hadn't thought it'd hurt that much. Maybe he was just strong.

However, despite his threats, she just glared at him and stood up, forgetting about the tickets (even though they were tickets her dad had bought her, to a pro soccer game) as she turned towards the house.

"Hey!" He stood up, grabbing her arm and pulling her back roughly. "Did I say you could leave?"

"Fuck off," she snapped, spitting at him.

Itachi got a maniacal look in his eyes, drawing his fist back and punching her. "What did I say about insulting me?" he growled, drawing his fist back. She flinched, trying to get away. "Oh, no you're not," he snapped, dragging her towards his car.

Her eyes widened. "NEJI—Mmph!" Her scream was cut off as he clapped a hand over her mouth.

"One more word and I'll strangle you," he growled, throwing her in the back seat of the car.

It seemed that, as soon as she touched the seat, everything grew dark. Dark and cold.

**(-oOo-)**

"Wonder what's taking her so long," Neji mused, flipping channels now that the movie was over and they had nothing to watch.

"She's probably forgotten all about what she was bringing us, and is making a snowman," Gaara said carelessly.

"Yeah, that sounds like her," Neji said with a laugh, finding a soccer game somehow. "Oh, good, something worth watching…"

**(-oOo-)**

"You know you can stay in the hospital longer," Sakura pointed out, helping Ukon out off Sakkon's car.

"Hell, no," he said coolly, rolling his eyes. "I'm fine. Besides, I hate hospitals."

"So do I, but if I'd just gotten into a car crash, I'd want to make sure I was all better before I left." She offered him a small smile, which he returned as they went into the house, Sakkon following with Ukon's stuff they'd brought him during his stay at the hospital.

"Hello, Orochimaru-sama," Ukon said, somewhat curious as to why his boss would be waiting for him inside the door.

"A word, Ukon," Orochimaru said coolly, turning on his heel and going down the hall.

Ukon and Sakura looked at each other. "What could she have done _now_?" he asked in a long suffering voice as he leaned up off of Sakura and followed Orochimaru.

Sakura gulped, following him slowly, so he wouldn't notice. _Please tell me Shizuka isn't in trouble again, _she thought, fear creeping over her again. _Please…_

Sakura came to a stop just outside the door where Orochimaru and Ukon usually went. She had no sooner arrived when she heard a hit connect. Her eyes widened.

_**I hold my breath as this life starts to take its toll**_

"_You didn't tell me she had another boyfriend_!" Orochimaru shouted, punching Ukon in the ribs. "_Didn't you think I'd want to know that_!"

"I-I thought she would tell you, Orochimaru-s—"

_**  
I hide behind a smile as this perfect plan unfolds**_

"_Don't give me that bullshit_!" Orochimaru shouted, bringing his fist down on the top of Ukon's head; the younger boy crumpled almost instantly, and the kicking began.

_**But oh, God, I feel I've been lied to**_

_He just got out of the hospital! _Sakura screamed inside, clenching and unclenching her fists.

_**Lost all faith in the things I have achieved**_

_I won't let you hurt him anymore!_

_**And I**_

Ukon had a split second to register the sound of the door open and something light throwing themselves over him, before the pain stopped… For him, anyway.

Looking up, his eyes widened.****

I've woken now to find myself

Sakura scrunched her eyes up, chewing her lip as Orochimaru's heel dug into her back repeatedly; he hadn't registered that she was laying over Ukon.

_**In the shadows of all I have created**_

It was more pain then she'd ever experienced since her birth. She wanted to run away… she was scared to death… but she didn't dare move.

_**I'm longing to be lost in you**_

She had to protect him.

_**Away from this place I have made**_

Ukon starred up at her. "Sa… Sakura…"

_**Won't you take me away from me**_

**(-oOo-)_  
_**

Shizuka tried to scream against the stabbing pain as Itachi kissed her roughly, biting down on her lips to keep her silent.

_**Crawling through this world as disease flows through my veins**_

"Shut up," he growled deep in the throat, stabbing even farther inside her.

_**I look into myself, but my own heart has been changed**_

She sobbed, struggling weakly against his rough grip on her wrists. _Neji…!_

**_I can't go on like this_**

"_It… it's true I like the attention and everything... But… he's never been there for me… like you have… You're so much more to me then he ever was…"_

_**I loathe all I've become**_

_Neji!_

I've woken now to find myself

**(-oOo-)**

"Move, idiot!" Ukon shouted, trying to push her off him, but couldn't, with one arm in a sling. "You _wanna _get hurt?"

_**In the shadows of all I have created**_

She shook her head, gritting her teeth as Orochimaru continued to kick her. "I… won't let him… hurt you anymore."

_**I'm longing to be lost in you**_

Orochimaru realized, just before Sakura was going to pass out from the pain, that it was she, and not Ukon, whom he was kicking. When he realized it, he stopped, setting his foot down.

"Idiot girl."

**_Away from this place I have made_**

Ukon starred down at Sakura, his eyes cast in shadows.

"_Can you at least let me know when you're in trouble so I can take care of you?"_

_**Won't you take me away from me**_

_Sakura…_

**(-oOo-)**

"Get dressed," Itachi said coldly, throwing Shizuka's clothes at her.****

Lost in a dying world I reach for something more

She trembled unconsciously as she slowly pulled her clothes on. He did the same, pulling on his pants, completely avoiding having to look at her, like she was some kind of disgusting creature.

_**I have grown so weary of this lie I live**_

Only one thought went through her mind as she slowly, somehow, got out of the car:

_He stole from me…_

**(-oOo-)**

Somehow, even with one arm in a sling, Ukon managed to carry Sakura to his room. She'd passed out from the pain a moment after Orochimaru had left.

**_I've woken now to find myself_**

_It's all my fault,_ he thought, laying her gently on his bed and going to his desk to get his arnica.

_**In the shadows of all I have created**_

_I brought this on you, _he thought, his eyes burning as he took two arnica from the box and went back over to his bed.

_**I'm longing to be lost in you**_

_I just… wanted to think that I was needed… I wanted to protect Sakkon… and Sakura, as w— _He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of her stirring. He looked down at her as her light green eyes fluttered open.

_**Away from this place I have made**_

He was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of her stirring. He looked down at her as her light green eyes fluttered open. Her lips parted into a small smile.

"You're alright…"

_**Won't you take me away from me**_

"…You stupid bitch," he muttered; he didn't mean it to sound mean or anything; it was just the first thing that came to mind.

There was a long silence as he pushed the arnica in her mouth. She chewed it slowly, starring up at the ceiling.

"Why did you have to get in the way?" he asked finally, starring down at the floor as he knelt next to the bed, his eyes in the shadow of his brow. "You… you could have been seriously injured… I'm used to it now… I could have handled it… but…"

Sakura watched him out of the corner of her eye, knowing he wasn't finished. The pain in his voice was obvious, but the pain didn't come from the scars and bruises on his body, but from something more internal, that she couldn't see. She wanted to hug him, but knew he wouldn't accept it until he had said what he wanted to say.

"I… I can't stand to have you… see me hurt," he said, after another silence, his eyes still cast down. "But… seeing you hurt like this… because you were protecting me…" He clenched his jaw, balling his good hand into a fist. "…It makes me want to die!"

"If you died," she said softly, bringing him back, "where would that leave Sakkon?"

He starred at the floor, eyes wide, mouth hanging open slightly.

"If you died," she continued, turning her head to look at him, "where would that leave me?"

Ukon was silent for a very long time, starring at the floor. _That's right… I'm not just living for myself anymore… _

**Flashback**

"_I didn't want to leave her, so she made me make her a promise…"_

"_To protect Sakkon."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

"_You have to live, Ukon-chan… promise me, you'll protect Sakkon in my stead… promise Mommy, alright?"_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

"_I'm the older twin, and I promised her I would take care of him."_

"_You promised who?"_

"_My ...mother... before she died..."_

**End flashback**

_**Flashback**_

"_That's why… That's why I'm willing to do anything to make sure that he'll be alright."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

"_Thank you."_

"_For what?" I didn't do anything…_

"_For being there. For taking care of me when I was hurt. I've never been able to tell anyone this stuff, and I'm glad it's you I can tell."_

**End flashback**

_I don't want her to be in all this drama and danger anymore… _he thought, his heart wrenching. _But… her being safe means… I have to be alone again… _"I… put you in danger," he began softly, clenching his eyes shut.

"I put myself in danger. I'm not letting him hurt you anymore."

Ukon was pulled out of his memories by Sakura's fingers under his chin, pulling him up to face her. She was smiling kindly at him, in a soft, understand way. She didn't say anything, just smiled. He gave a small, barely-heard sob, climbing up onto the bed to lay next to her, his head on her shoulder; he felt her stroking his hair gently as tears trickled, unchecked, down his cheeks.

_I can't help it, _he sobbed inwardly, burying his face into her neck. _I can't let her go… There's no one I love as much as her…_

"I love you," he whispered softly, choking slightly on his own tears. "It hurts…"

"I know. I love you, too," she said with another smile, kissing his forehead.

* * *

Just got one thing to say, in case this one traumatized you: this fic was rated R for a reason. 

**Dragonman180:** Lol! Your review had this one rolling around (well not really, since this one was in her computer chair) for quite some time! Hanabi is this one's little sadistic comedy, that she is. This one hopes that this chapter answered your question about the ItaShiz pairing…

**RLN and IHN:** This one thinks that Shizuka makes puppy-dog eyes with very nice, glittery, sparkly lenses, that she does. This one checked out your high school fan fic, that she did! This one shall read the second chapter as soon as her work load lightens up, no da.

**DreamAnimeKitten:** This one had a most disturbing mental picture when she read "pedestrian ninjas", That she did. This one is pleased you enjoyed the chapter.

**Hinata's Biggest Fanboy:** Sakkon did not think of the accident, and neither did this one. (Kenshin face) This one would like very much to see that movie!

**Kie-san:** KYAAH! NEJI PLUSHIE! This one thinks you should say "blow job" just to see their ears light on fire. Oro? Anti-climatic? This one is confused… oh well. This one did not know what a "save" was, either… -.-' O.o This one's responses are getting rather small compared to your reviews… oh well. (Kenshin grin)

**Riyo Shiban:** O.o Oh, this one thought you were misspelling '-kun'. But why do you keep saying "REVIEW"? Are you attempting to get this one to read a fan fic of yours? O.o?

**Flaming Sakura:** This one has not gotten any flames for this story (yay!) but this one did get two for another fan fic. But this one is over it. (Kenshin grin) This one is pleased you kept your word! You don't need to read _Apprentice,_ this one just has a habit of advertising her fan fics all the time. This one hopes you enjoy this chapter, too!

**Crazytreeotaku:** Do you know KNK in real life, or something to that tune? This one is jealous! Y.Y Oh well. This one talks to her all the time anyway. This one loves her Gaara scenes, that she does! (Kenshin grin)

**Meggido the Relic Hunter:** You will upgrade it to uber when there are 20 chapters? Oro? This one was almost offended, but is not anymore! If Itachi and Hanabi met, this one thinks that a trip to Mars would be in order.

**Andrea:** This one is pleased she made you happy! (Kenshin grin) THIS ONE HATES SASUKE WITH A FIERY PASSION NOT FITTING OF A RUROUNI AUTHORESS! (growl) Anyway. This one was pleased with their confessions, as well, and would cut off an arm to gain access to Neji's hair! While Neji's mom is not a major character, this one likes putting scenes with her in the fic, so you can expect to see her! This one took so long to update… gomen.

**Ginka, Jazzy Uchiha, AznNarutoGrl-91, xl-twisted-lx, kingofundrwrld:** Thank you for your reviews! They made this one's day, but… this one can not comment on reviews that are too short for her to take anything from, or when the style of writing is not comprehendible. Sorry!


	17. Broken Wings

**Crimson Love**

This one's muse of the day shall be her lovely (male) character, Aku!

Aku: (waves) Hello! (smile)

Blame him for anything you find saddening.

Aku/.O

O.ox This one got 24 reviews for the last chapter! Holy crap! (feels like she has been touched by god) This one is not worthy… And! They were all very nice, long reviews…. Everyone had something or someone to comment on, with the exception of, like, one review. But this one doesn't publicly ridicule! (Kenshin grin) (Unless you annoy this one) Thank you for all your reviews! This one hopes (prays) maybe she shall break her record and reach 300?

…This one shall stop dreaming for the impossible.

But anyway, thanks again! This one does go through and read every single review carefully, to get ideas. If you have suggested things you would like to see, this one is careful to consider options, but apologizes if you did not get your wish.

(Ritsu Moment) THIS ONE IS SOOOOOOOOO SORRRRRYYYYY! GOMEN NASAAAIIIII!

Aku: (falls on readers by way of greeting) ENJOY!

(He does that… it's his way of saying hello. CTO and Kage know…)

You know what… this one wants a staff for her manga… coloring in all that black in Aku's hair is really troublesome…

Aku: I'm sorry for having sexy hair/.Y

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Broken Wings**

Kimimaro waited in Shizuka's room for about an hour, eager to tell his beloved sister (and owner) about Ino's invitation to "hang out". He did not recall ever feeling this giddy, except once, on his tenth birthday, when Kidoumaru had gotten him a Shrinky Dink machine. But, as we all know, Shrinky Dinks are godly, so that didn't count. He couldn't wait to tell his sister about his new achievements, since she, especially, had a way of congratulating him that made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

As soon as he had told her, however, he would go tell the rest of the known world.

And so, when Shizuka got to her room, Kimimaro was ready and waiting for her at the door.

"Hi, Shizuka-chan, did you have a good time?" he asked, feeling he might as well do the thing properly.

Her reaction, however, was not one he would have ever suspected. Normally, if he greeted her thus, she would give him a huge hug that would make his spine pop, and gush for an hour or so about what she and Neji (and Gaara, usually) had done that day, not leaving anything out. Now, if Neji knew that his private life was being gushed like that, he probably would have been slightly annoyed. However, it was through this method of said gushing that Kimimaro knew whether or not Shizuka and Neji had had sex, and Neji ought to be grateful, since, if they had, Kimimaro would most likely cut the aforementioned boyfriend's testicles off.

Today, however, was different. Instead of giving him a bone-crushing hug, Shizuka backed away until she was against the wall across from her door, eyes wide, her body visibly trembling.

"…Shizuka-chan?"

She said nothing, sliding down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, knees drawn up to her chest and her forehead on her knees, still shaking.

Kimimaro's eyes widened. "Shizuka-chan, what's wrong?" he cried, rushing to her side. "Did something happen?"

She didn't answer, or make any sign that she had heard him. She was ashamed of herself. The first thought that had gone through her head when she saw him had been _He's a man. He's going to hurt me. _She was ashamed of herself that she would think that of Kimimaro, whom she had known her entire life, and who would never hurt her, even unintentionally. _I'm disgusting, _she thought, drawing her knees closer, ignoring his protests and pleadings for her to tell her what was wrong. _I'm disgusting… I'm dirty… oh god, I feel so dirty… _

She got up and ran into her bathroom, grabbing a wash cloth and turning the water in her sink on until it was scalding hot, running the wash cloth under it and pouring soup into the water. After she'd lathered up the wash cloth, she scrubbed her arms and legs furiously, ignoring the burning feeling. _I can feel it, I can feel it, I can feel it, _she thought in a mantra, scrubbing furiously at her skin. She couldn't help it; she could still feel Itachi's hands on her, his nails digging into her skin to hold her down. It was the most disgusting feeling she'd ever felt, but it wouldn't go away, no matter how much she scrubbed. _Stop, dammit! _she shouted inside, dunking her whole arm in the sink and scrubbing it. _Make it go away!_

"Shizuka-chan, you'll burn yourself!" Kimimaro cried, running into the bathroom after her. "Please stop it!" He grabbed her hand and shoulder in an attempt to make her stop before she scrubbed her skin off.

Her eyes widened when she felt him touch her, and, for a split second, she thought it was Itachi touching her. She screamed, wrenching herself away from him and running into the toilet stall, slamming the door shut and locking it.

Kimimaro stood very still for a long time; he could hear her sobbing raggedly in the stall, but he didn't know why. He didn't know what he'd done to make her act like that; she'd never acted like that towards him in his entire life. _Something happened_, he thought, going over to kneel next to the door to the toilet stall. "Shizuka-chan?"

She didn't respond, and kept sobbing.

"Shizuka-chan, please tell me what's wrong," he said softly, kneeling on the tiled floor. "Please? We always tell each other everything, don't we? We've always done everything together, right? Ever since we were little, we've always done everything together. We've always told each other when something was bothering us. Right? Please tell me what's wrong. I want to help, if I can. If I can't, I'll just listen. Ok?"

There was a long silence; he heard her sniffing slightly, but she wasn't sobbing anymore.

"I'm sorry, Shizuka-chan," he said softly, leaning against the wall next to the door to the stall. "I'm sorry for whatever happened. And I'm sorry for cornering you like this. I'm sorry if I did anything to upset you. I'm sorry if it's my fault. I'm sorry for frightening you, if I did. I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry."

Inside the stall, Shizuka listened to him, feeling totally wrenched. This was Kimimaro. This wasn't Itachi. This was her best friend. This was the person she'd known her entire life.

Kimimaro looked up when she opened the door. There were tear tracks on her cheeks, and her arms were red from where she'd scalded herself, but he looked past it as she crawled over to him and laid her head in his lap and sobbed.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, wrapping her arms around his waist as he stroked her hair gently. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm dirty… I'm sorry… I'm so disgusting…"

"No you're not," he said in a soothing voice, stroking her hair in a comforting way.

"It… it won't go away," she whispered softly. "I can't… I can't make the feeling go away…"

He didn't say anything at first, brushing a few strands of hair off her forehead. His eyes widened when he felt aforementioned forehead. "Shizuka-chan, you're burning up!" he cried, pressing his hand on her forehead.

"I walked home," she mumbled.

"Come on," he said in a gentler tone, helping her to her feet and taking her back in her room. He got her dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a big T-shirt that used to belong to him (Keep in mind, he's her brother, technically, so he doesn't care about dressing her), put her in her bed with ice packs on her arms to ease the burns, and tucked her up nicely. At one point, Kamikaze came in, so he put the cat in with her as a companion. Then, he put in her Greenday CD, gave her her headphones, and started to leave to get her a glass of water, but she stopped him, looking instantly terrified.

"I don't want to be alone," she said softly, looking ready to cry again.

"I'll be back," he promised. When she still looked scared, he went over and locked the window, duct-taped it shut, and even added a few nails to appease her (where he got the nails is a mystery to me, too). This seemed alright, since she sat back again, petting Kamikaze on the head.

Once Kimimaro was in the kitchen, he picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew very well by now.

"Hello?"

"What the hell did you do to Shizuka, Neji?" he demanded angrily, grabbing a glass out of the cabinet and going over to the fridge to get ice.

"…I… didn't…" He seemed genuinely confused. "I was just about to call you and see where she was."

"What're you talking about?" Kimimaro asked, still totally miffed as he held the glass under the ice machine thing.

"She went out about a half hour ago to look for something she was supposed to bring us, since she thought she dropped it in the driveway, and she didn't come back for a while, but when we went to see if she was still out there, she was gone, so I thought she might have gone home or something," Neji said in one breath.

"She said she walked home, but she didn't tell me why," Kimimaro answered, putting the glass under the little water thing (I have no idea what these things are called, but we have one on our fridge and I use them both all the time).

"Without her coat? There's snow outside."

"I know, she has a fever now," Kimimaro said, going to the fridge and opening it one-handed, getting a bag of grapes out. Setting the bag down on the counter, he got a box of deli toothpicks out of one of the cabinets and started putting the grapes on the toothpicks shishkabob-style. "Are you sure you didn't say anything to upset her?" he asked, cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder.

"Well, Gaara just doesn't talk," Neji mused. "And I can't think of anything I said that was bad enough to make her go home on her own."

"No, I'm sure it wasn't you," Kimimaro mused, putting the grape shishkabobs on a small plate.

"Is she too sick to come to school tomorrow?"

"Most likely," Kimimaro said, going and getting some cheese and crackers for himself. "I think she was delirious, or something. She tried to like, burn her skin off, or something, and screamed at me when I tried to stop her. Then she locked herself in her bathroom and didn't come out 'till I begged her. I think she's—"

"Who are you talking to?"

Kimimaro turned; Shizuka stood in the doorway, starring blankly at him. "Just Neji," he answered.

Her eyes widened. "No!" she shouted, running over and yanking the phone out of his hand and slamming it down on the receiver.

Kimimaro starred at her. "What's with you? It's just Neji." He glanced at the phone as it started ringing again. "See? He's calling back to see if something wrong."

Kimimaro moved to answer the phone, but she blocked him, shaking her head vigorously. "Don't… Don't tell him anything," she said in a begging voice. "If you do, he'll—he'll do something a-and he'll get hurt!"

Kimimaro starred at her as the phone continued to ring.

"Anyone gonna get that?" Kidoumaru asked, frowning, as he came in the kitchen to see what all the noise was about.

There was a long silence, as Kimimaro and Shizuka starred at each other, and Kidoumaru starred at both of them.

"…Anyone?" The six-armed wonder looked at them both.

Another silence.

"…Ok, fine, I'll answer," he said huffily, going over to the phone and picking it up, only to have it wrenched from his hand by Shizuka and turned off before he could even get a "hello" out.

Kidoumaru and Kimimaro both starred at Shizuka as she covered the phone with her body, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "Please don't talk to him," she said softly. "He'll hate me…"

Kidoumaru raised an eyebrow. "O-K, I'll let this one pass as one of her passing flings." Shrugging it off carelessly, he left the kitchen.

Kimimaro watched him go, and then starred at Shizuka again. "Why would Neji _hate_ you?" he asked, totally and mortally confused.

When she didn't answer, Kimimaro frowned, going over and lifting her gently away from the phone. "Come on Shizuka-chan," he said gently, "you have a fever and it's making you delirious, or something. You should go to sleep, ok? I won't call Neji." _Even though I'm most likely going to get chewed out tomorrow for hanging up when he was worried about her…_

Now, granted, Kimimaro was just as curious as Neji sometimes (See Chapter Numero …um… 12), but he was decidedly better at controlling his curiosity.

…Sometimes.

However, this was one of those times, so there is no comic scene of Kimimaro in a detective robe and magnifying glass for you to picture and enjoy. Anyway: getting back to the original plot (whatever's left of it).

…Yeah, SNG just completely lost her train of thought on that.

**(-oOo-)**

Neji starred at the phone as he was hung up on, not once, but twice. Setting the phone down, he turned to Gaara. "Dude, they just hung up on me. _Twice_."

"…" Gaara thought for a moment. "Maybe she thinks you'll catch her germs?"

"Over the phone?"

"…Good point." Gaara thought some more. "Maybe she's breaking up with you?"

Neji: ULTIMATE DEPRESSION.

"…Or… not?"

Neji: Less-then Ultimate Depression.

"Ok, well, it's a start."

**(-oOo-)**

When Ukon woke up, an hour or so later, he was dead-tired and feeling kind of sore from his nasty little experience, even though Sakura had cut it off half-way through. It was, however, nothing a shower wouldn't fix, so, rolling off the bed with a thud, he dragged himself into the bathroom.

Sakura looked up as he opened the door; she was in the process of wrapping a towel around herself. She, apparently, had had the same idea as Ukon, that taking a shower would help the soreness.

Ukon: O.o

Sakura: o.O

"OH MY GOD YOU PERVERT!" she screamed, finishing wrapping herself in a heartbeat and throwing every available solid object at him.

"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!" he yelped, running out of the bathroom with his good arm over his head. "Please don't throw stuff!"

After she slammed the bathroom door shut, Ukon went to his desk and got some napkins out of his first aid kit, rolling them up and using them to stop his nosebleed. _Perversion sucks_, he thought, exiting his room to go down the hall in the direction of the kitchen.

Sakkon looked up from where he was sitting at the kitchen table with a jar of peanut butter, a Physics textbook, a student directory, and napkins stuck up his nose. "You too?"

Ukon glared at him. "See, now, it's semi-alright for _me_ to see her, since _I'm _the boyfriend. _You, _however, are just not entitled."

Sakkon rolled his eyes, going back to paging through the student directory.

"Looking for someone?" Ukon raised an eyebrow, sitting down and dipping his finger in the peanut butter.

"I can't remember Temari's cell phone number," Sakkon answered. "And I can't remember her last name, either."

Ukon starred at him. "Dude. We've known them for, like, twelve years, and you still don't know her last name?"

"Hey! My short-term memory only goes back to last week! Besides, you can't convince me _you_ know her last name!"

"…I was never obligated to know it," Ukon said carelessly, licking his finger.

The twins looked up when Sakura came in, wearing a pair of Ukon's jeans and one of his black, button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up five times. She glared at them before going over to the fridge and opening it.

Ukon turned and whispered to Sakkon, with his hand over his mouth so Sakura couldn't see or hear, "I can't decide if it would be fatal to mention she looks good in my clothes."

"Why don't you try it?" Sakkon whispered back.

"Why don't _you_?"

"Because she might actually hurt me!"

"And what makes you think she won't hurt _me_?"

"Because you already have a cast on!"

"You know I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Sakura called from where she was dumping some take-out onto a plate and going over to the microwave.

Twins: "Meep!"

Sakura took the food back out of the microwave and grabbed a pair of chopsticks from a drawer. She sat down at the opposite end of the table from the twins; and considering how many people actually lived in the house, it was a pretty big table. They watched her warily, in silence, as she slowly ate.

Sakkon started to stick his finger in the peanut butter again.

"It is _rude_ to stick one's finger in a jar of peanut butter used by the entire house," Sakura said coolly.

"Sorry!" Sakkon squeaked, withdrawing the finger at once and sticking it in his mouth to hide the evidence.

"I'm sure you didn't… _do_ that… before?" Sakura said slowly.

"Do what?" the younger twin squeaked.

"Stick your finger in your mouth… and then back in the peanut butter?"

"N-No!" he squeaked, wiping the offensive finger off on his shirt.

"…Oh yeah." She went back to her food. "That's really attractive."

_I'm so humiliated! _Sakkon sobbed inwardly, banging his head on the table.

_It was worse last time, _Ukon thought, patting Sakkon on the back. _Last time, she got angry again and threw kitchenware…_

**(-oOo-)**

"She can't be breaking up with me," Neji said for the fifteenth time, pacing his room with his hands behind his back. "I didn't do anything. I haven't made her mad in two weeks. She can't be breaking up with me. I didn't do anything. I haven't made her mad in two weeks. She can't be breaking up with me. I didn't do anything. I haven't made her mad in two weeks. She can't be breaking up with me. I didn't—"

"Will. You. Shut. Up. !" Gaara shouted, throwing the manga he had previously been reading, on the floor.

"I'm emotionally distraught!"

"You're driving me insane!"

"My girlfriend is ignoring me!"

"I'm going to lose what's left of my marbles!"

"AND YOU DON'T CARE!" Neji threw himself on his bed and proceeded to be even more depressed then he already was. "Oh my god, she's breaking up with me! Oh my god, I'm gonna die!"

"Please do," Gaara muttered, putting in his headphones.

Headphones, however, was a failed attempt as Neji suddenly appeared in front of him with Shojo-sad-eyes. Gaara groaned and took the headphones out. "What?"

"Am I codependent?" Neji whimpered, his lower-lip quivering.

"Yes."

"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE SO MEAN! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME WHEN I'M SO DEPRESSED?" Neji shrieked, beating Gaara.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE BEING INSANE!"

"SHE'S BREAKING UP WITH ME!"

"NO WONDER!"

"OH MY GOD I HATE YOU!" Neji wailed, even though he didn't mean it, and opened his door.

Hanabi starred up at him from where she was crouching next to his door with a glass against her ear.

…_Oh, no…_

"NEJI-NII-SAN'S GIRLFRIEND HIS BREAKING WITH HIM AND GAARA'S LOSING HIS MARBLES AND NEJI-NII-SAN IS CODEPENDENT AND NEJI-NII-SAN HATES GAARA?"

THWHACK.

Hanabi: X.x

"We have to dispose of her or we'll never hear the end of this!"

And so it was that Hanabi was wrapped up like a fish cake and disposed of under her bed with the dusty bunnies of hell that have been building up there for the past fifteen years.

Gaara went home shortly after, saying he needed time to ration his conscious. Neji didn't know what 'rationing conscious' meant, but he didn't care. Instead, he went to the only guy in the county with enough knowledge of girls to assist him.

"PLEASE HELP ME, COACH, I'M BEING DUMPED!" Neji wailed, bowing with his forehead to the floor.

"I don't know whether to be insulted or humored," Genma muttered, chewing slowly on a sandwich.

**(-oOo-)**

Shizuka watched Kimimaro play video games, both of them in total silence. She was sitting against the wall, in the corner of her bed, with as much distance between them as possible. She couldn't help it. She couldn't feel comfortable being close to him, even if he _was_ "just Kimimaro." When she thought of it, she couldn't help from think of Itachi; she'd let her guard down with him for a long time, because she never thought he'd actually _do_ anything to her. And she'd never even bothered to keep her guard up with Kimimaro and the others, because she considered all of them like her brothers, and, because of that, didn't think _they_ would "do" anything, either. But maybe she was wrong; maybe Kimimaro and the other guys _weren't _to be trusted, after all.

Kimimaro turned to look at her during a lapse in the action of his game. "Are you sure you're alright, Shizuka-chan?"

She nodded, chewing her lip into a smile. "Yeah… I'm fine."

He smiled brightly at her. "Ok." He returned to his game. "DIE, EVIL CELL-MINIONS!"

Normally, she would have laughed at his sudden outburst, but now, she couldn't. _Damn you, Itachi, _she thought darkly, leaning her forehead against the wall. _You stole my relationship with my brother… now I'll never be as comfortable with him again…_

**(-oOo-)**

If Sakura could have described Kimimaro and Neji's behavior the next day in school, she could have summed it up in one word: depressed. From what she could see, the older boy didn't participate in class like he normally did, didn't talk as much as he normally did, and actually packed an unhealthy lunch. When people saw Kimimaro following Sakura around like normal, it was like she was being haunted by a ghost or something.

When Kimimaro didn't react in the slightest to Ino hugging him, Sakura knew something was seriously up, but when she asked Ukon about it, he didn't have any real answers, per say.

"Shizuka-sama's sick, but he doesn't normally act this way when she is," Ukon explained, scratching the back of his head. "I don't get him, either, sometimes."

"Kimimaro?" Sakura poked Kimimaro on the arm.

He turned bleary, zombie-like eyes on her.

"Um… are you ok?" she asked uneasily.

"Yes… fine… everything is fine…" He went back to sitting with his forehead on his desk, arms hanging limp at his side.

"…How 'bout you, Neji?" Ukon poked Neji on the forehead with his good arm (the one not in the cast).

Neji turned Shojo-sad-eyes on Ukon. "Do you think she's breaking up with me…?"

"…Whatever, man." Ukon turned back to Sakura. "They seem fine to me."

"Well, yeah, they're perfectly fine," she said with an eye-roll, "if you're comparing them to a dead man."

* * *

**Chappie Info:**

**Inspirational Songs:**

_Haunted, _by Evanescence (on Shizuka's thoughts)

Ever Dream? By Nightwish (on Kimimaro's thoughts)

**Authoress Responses! (Hell yeah!)**

**KingOfUndrWrld:** Ok, you want responses? Here's my responses: Learn to spell, for the love of god! You are in tenth grade, WAY too old to be using 'dood' and 'teh'. That just pisses me off. Also, you used my name! Hello! Are you too much of a dumb ass to know NOT to use people's first or last names over the internet? Why don't you just give them my address and phone number and tell them to stalk me? Also: ANGST much? I did put you in the responses; I put you in the list of reviews I couldn't very well comment on because they had NOTHING to do with the story, practically. Just because you don't get your own lovely little thing like the wonderful people who DO leave reviews ABOUT the story about not about how I "didnt include meh in ur review stuff" does NOT mean I hate you. Also, I "gotta" put WHO in, now? I don't "gotta" do anything. I could kill Shikamaru off and not have any remorse. Well, there are my responses. Since you obviously wanted public ridicule, I gave it to you.

And now, onto this one's lovely buddies!

**Mika:** GASP! HELLO, LOVELY! (sob sob) It hath been too long since this one hath readth thine wonderful reviews! Ok, anyway. You can take the salad dressing and bread things away now, this one is done with him for now. (Kenshin grin)

**Dragonman180:** Dude, Itachi would already be dead before he even pulled in the driveway if this were Ninja world. This one kind of wish Neji had the Byakugan, too. Y.Yx The fact that they're not in Ninja world greatly limits their fighting technique. This one actually had to use GUNS, and this one thinks that guns are sissy's tools. This one has come to greatly enjoy Sakura now! This one did not like her at all in _Catharsis, _but then again, she was not in love with Ukon in _Catharsis._

**Kie-san:** O.ox You left 2 reviews… Oh well. Adds to the numbers, ne? (Kenshin Grin) You're like, the only person who ever comments on how I write the lyrics in with the song… it's rather depressing, but good that someone notices, at the same time. O.ox What made you think he wouldn't go so far?

Aku/.o OH MY GOD YOUR SISTER HAS MY NAME!

**Hinata's Biggest Fan Boy:** This one is sorry for the short length of the chapter! Y.Yx This one wanted to put in a scene of Gaara and Neji watching TV during the time Shizuka was raped, but it didn't fit anywhere in the lyrics, really. Gomen! O.ox That was a rather long review. Oro… Oh, this chapter is 1164-ish more words then the last one… This one tried to lengthen it! Y.Yx

**CrazyTreeOtaku:** O.ox She talks about this one? Oro. Oh dear. Only good things, this one hopes… NO ITACHI MUST REST IN _PIECES_!

Aku: (pushes SNG out of the way) HIII, CTO-DONO! (falls on CTO)

**RLN and IHN:** If this were Ninja world, Itachi would already be dead, because Ukon would have killed him, and then he would come back to life with his l33t ninja skills, and then Neji would kill him, and he'd come back with his l33t ninja skills, and then Kimimaro would kill him and so on and so forth. THEN… Dun-dun-dun. Inner-Sakura would get him. Then he would just stay dead.

**Meggido the Relic Hunter:** O.o This one enjoyed your review greatly, that she did. (Kenshin grin) ITACHI MUST DIE!

**Epuneyujah:** Oh, don't worry. This one shall punish him… with fire… and brimstone… NO ONE DOES THAT TO _THIS ONE'S_ O.C.S AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! This one liked him better in _Apprentice_ but now, this one dislikes him with a passion.

**DreamAnimeKitten:** THIS ONE AGREES WITH YOU THAT KIMI IS THE MOST ADORABLE THING! ..Er… however, this one thinks he is the most adorable thing above Gaara… and even Neji… so… yeah. This one things you might look in the Sound Ninjas folder in Anime Galleries. That is were the others are listed. This one is annoyed that they do not have their own folders.

**Andrea:** Y.Yx This one was greatly saddened by the chapter, as well. H-R was greatly saddened by it, as well. When she read it, she asked this one "Why their world is falling apart." This one can not answer, for she has had this planned out for some time. Gomen!

**A random student:** (Kenshin grin!) You do not have to draw it for this lowly one! This one is sorry that you did not enjoy the rest of _Apprentice_…Gomen! Y.Yx This one was rather proud of the ending, though… This fic is a redemption of sorts for this one, so that she may redeem herself for the people who did not like _Apprentice. _(Kenshin grin) (stares at mail box anyway)

**Riyo Shiban:** Ah. This one shall know how to translate it now! (Kenshin grin)

**xl-twisted-lx:** (offers her Authoress Void of Random Weapons) This one shall let you use this for a time, if you are only murderlizing Itachi. (Kenshin grin)

**AlphaC:** Yes… you and H-R have both the same opinion… their lives are falling apart for the good of this one's cruel and unusual plot. Gomen! Y.Yx

**Jazzy Uchiha:** Again with short reviews… because the longer ones were in great numbers this time, this one does not mind as much… demo… Y.Yx

**Meg Haze:** O.ox ARE YOU AGREEING WITH ITACHI'S BEHAVIOR? (raises sword) ARE YOU? (lowers sword) Ah. Gomen! (Kenshin grin) This one hasn't figured anything out for Orochi yet… but he will be punished… somehow…

**Rini Rika:** This one likes violent things O.ox. As with this one's other responses: Itachi and Orochi WILL be punished… somehow…

**Winnie7851:** O.ox When this one first began to read your review, this one thought it was a flame and became worried! But it was not! (Kenshin smile) It was very nice! Thank you! This one is pleased you enjoy it and my other fics! (Kenshin smile)

**NarutoFreak101:** THIS ONE LOATHES ITACHI AS WELL! DIIIIIIIEEE! (steps on Itachi repeatedly) Ahem. (Kenshin grin) Anyway. Gaara does talk O.ox just only to Neji…

**Ginka:** There shall be much drama, no da… This wasn't meant to be a comedy, but oh well. This one can't help but put in comic scenes every now and then. (Kenshin grin) All rape IS horrible! O.ox

**Isaac Says Booga: **It's kind of odd, but this one based Ukon's screen name on your name a little bit. Just a widdle bit (Kenshin grin). Thank you for your criticism… what's a SSBM controller? This one put just "he stole from me" on purpose, because this one is going to keep adding onto that statement in later chapter about the things Shizuka's spirit is limited to now, i.e.: her interactions with Kimimaro. This one thanks you again! (gives Kimi plushie with removable bones) O.ox

Aku: PH34R M4 L33T MUS3 SK33LS!


	18. Healing

**Crimson Love

* * *

**

**Chapter Eighteen: Healing**

"Can I come see Shizuka after school?" Neji asked of Kimimaro during gym.

Kimimaro actually looked semi-alive. "Uh… I don't know… I'd have to ask her."

Neji gave him an odd look. "You'd have to _ask_ her? About if _I_ could visit?"

Kimimaro nodded. "It's weird… she doesn't seem to want to talk to anyone, even you."

Neji: DEPRESSION.

"I-I could ask her, though!" Kimimaro offered quickly, taking out his cell phone.

Neji: Less-then-depressed

"Ok." Kimimaro dialed (even though they were in the middle of a basketball game… Like Jiraiya cares? R i g h t.) and waited for Shizuka to pick him. "Hi, Shizuka-chan? Yeah, Neji wants to know if he could come ov—"

"NO!"

Kimimaro yanked the phone away from his ear, wincing slightly. "U-Um…" He put the phone back against his ear. "W-Why?"

There was a pause as Shizuka seemed to say something.

"Um… ok… Yeah, I'll be home in about an hour… ok. Ok. Ok. _Ok. _Bye." He hung up. "She says she doesn't want you to get sick, too," he told Neji.

Neji slumped back into depression-mode. "Can I call her, at least?"

"I guess that would be ok, I mean it's not like she can give you germs over the phone, right?"

Neji nodded and smiled slightly, knowing Kimimaro was trying to cheer him up, and picked up one of the basketballs. But he didn't really feel like playing anymore.

**(-oOo-)**

Shizuka looked up when her phone rang. A scared shiver ran down her spine when she thought of the possibilities. _No, _she reasoned with herself. _He wouldn't call me… he got what he wanted, right? He doesn't have any reason to talk to me… ok… _She picked up the phone, wary despite herself. "H-Hello?"

"Shizuka?"

Her eyes widened and she dropped the phone. _Why is _Neji_ calling me?_

"Shizuka, are you there?"

"U-um, y-yes, I'm here," she said quickly, picking up the phone again.

"Kimimaro said you were sick, are you ok?"

"Y-Yes, I'm alright… just a little fever."

"Why'd you walk home, anyway? Hiashi could have driven you if you were so set on going home."

Shizuka's eyes widened. _Think of something—fast! _"I-I didn't think of it…"

"Oh. I have your coat, you left it here. Do you want me to bring it over?"

She shook her head rapidly. "N-No! I'm fine! J-Just give it to Kimimaro, o-or someth—"

"Are you avoiding me, or something?"

She shook her head again, even though he couldn't see it. _No…_

"Did I do something to upset you? 'Cause I'd like to know if I did, so I can apologize."

She shook her head again, chewing her lip. _No… it's not you… it's _me_…_

"Shizuka? …Please tell me what I did?"

"I-I have to go," she said quickly. "I-I have to take a bath." Before he could respond, she hung up and went to run a bath, even though it was her fifth one that day.

No matter what she did, the dirty feeling wouldn't go away.

Shizuka closed her eyes as she eased into the steaming water. She didn't close them because it was pleasant, or because the water was too hot; she closed them so she wouldn't have to see her own body.

After all: it had been her body that made Itachi rape her, right?

**(-oOo-)**

Neji tossed and turned, nearly falling off his bed a few times, but he didn't notice, for he was deep inside a nightmare. One of those horrible nightmares you really never quite forget.

_He was playing soccer, and was, actually, doing pretty good. He was playing an offense position, so he was running down the field, kicking the ball, occasionally passing the ball to a team-mate, but always getting it back eventually. Then, just as he was about to score, the other team's goalie started… changing shape?_

_His eyes widened and he stopped dead as the other team's goalie turned into Shizuka. She gave him a small smile, her hands behind her back, just standing there._

"_Shizuka!" He started to walk towards her, but stopped as, slowly, her skin started eating it's self away, like some kind of acid was touching her; the skin left over looked like one of those 'Don't let this happen to you—don't smoke!' posters. Only half of her face remained 'normal', but she still gave him that small smile._

"_Shizuka, w-what hap—"_

"_Why didn't you help me, Neji?" she asked, still smiling._

"_H… huh?"_

"_I kept calling and calling for you, but you never came," she said, her tone never changing. "Why didn't you come? Don't you care about me?"_

_Neji's eyes widened. "What?"_

"_This wouldn't have happened to me if you came," she said softly. "It's all your fault. It's all your fault."_

_Neji started to protest, but stopped again when Shizuka changed, not back into the goalie, but into a taller man, with long, black hair and pale, sad eyes. His jaw dropped. "Dad?"_

"_Why don't you care enough to look for me yourself?" Hizashi asked, his eyes saddening. "Don't you ever care about anyone but yourself?"_

_Neji's eyes widened. "No—Dad! I didn't—"_

_Then, suddenly, all he saw was black, all around him. It was like he was hanging in the middle of outer space, past where stars hung. He heard voices all around him, taunting him, laughing at him, consoling him. Then, sudden, like a shimmer under water, Itachi was standing in front of him, slowly growing solid. Neji starred as, slowly, Shizuka appeared, still burned, in front of Itachi, facing Neji. _

_Itachi smirked, reaching around and putting a hand over Shizuka's eyes, making her lean back against him. "She belongs to me, now," Itachi taunted._

_Neji's eyes widened. "No!" he shouted, running towards them, reaching, touching, falling…_

_Falling…_

_Falling…_

"AHHHHH!" Neji sat bolt-upright, eyes unnaturally wide, gasping for breath. Realizing he was in his room, he took a few deep breaths. "Oh, god, that was scary," he muttered, wiping sweat off his forehead with his shirt.

"Are you alright, Neji?" Hiashi called, knocking on his door. "We heard you yelling."

"I'm fine," Neji called, laying down again. "Sorry I bothered you."

He tried for a while to go back to sleep, but, finding he couldn't, he got up and padded over to his computer, signing onto the chat room. Even if no one was on, he could make some technical additions, since Sakkon made him an administrator.

_(FateK!ller has joined the conversation)_

SnAk3-EyE1989: Hi

FateK!ller: Hi. I haven't seen you in a while, where've you been?

SnAk3-EyE1989: I didn't really feel like chatting, I guess.

FateK!ller: Your spelling's improved. (claps)

SnAk3-EyE1989: It's kind of hard NOT to improve when your tutor is around 24/7, practically.

FateK!ller: That could have something to do with it, yes

FateK!ller: What've you been doing?

SnAk3-EyE1989: Does my private life interest you?

FateK!ller: Don't flatter yourself, I have a girlfriend

SnAk3-EyE1989: What makes you think I'm a girl?

FateK!ller: …Just don't flatter yourself.

SnAk3-EyE1989: When did you get a girlfriend?

FateK!ller: About a month ago, give or take.

SnAk3-EyE1989: Ohhh. Is she pretty?

FateK!ller: I think so

SnAk3-EyE1989: What's she like?

FateK!ller: …Loud

FateK!ller: Controlling

FateK!ller: Kind of a bitch, most of the time

FateK!ller: But she's pretty nice to me, now

SnAk3-EyE1989: Wow, I didn't know you preferred to be uke

FateK!ller: I don't!

FateK!ller: I didn't say she was controlling to ME!

FateK!ller: …Why, does my private life interest you?

SnAk3-EyE1989: Nope

SnAk3-EyE1989: Hey, look at this song

FateK!ller: Ok

SnAk3-EyE1989: You've had your taste of all that's sweet  
Now you're through and what does it mean  
You've sought the truth, found a lie  
You've given up but it doesn't make it right

You wanna go, I know you wanna leave  
Ya' gotta go, farther than you see

_Chorus:_  
If you just look past your scars  
You will see it's not that far  
Don't close your mind  
Start to fly  
Begin to breathe, Start to fly  
Start to fly

Wake up from your sleep,  
start your dream  
It's okay to believe what you don't see  
Give it away, your heart  
won't break  
This is a chance that you're gonna have to take

You wanna go, I know you wanna leave  
Ya' gotta go, farther than you see

_Repeat Chorus_

Just close your eyes, hold on tight  
You don't have to be afraid  
I am with you all the time  
You'll be free, full of peace  
And everything that you need,  
it is right there can't you see

_Breakdown_

_Repeat Chorus_

FateK!ller: That's pretty

SnAk3-EyE1989: I know

FateK!ller: What was it written about, per say?

SnAk3-EyE1989: I don't know, but it makes sense to me if it's a 'recovery from rape' song

FateK!ller: Why would you need a recovery from rape song?

SnAk3-EyE1989: The lyrics just kind of fit, you know?

FateK!ller: …Yeah

FateK!ller: Hey, do you know anything about dreams?

SnAk3-EyE1989: This is random, why?

FateK!ller: I just had a really creepy dream

SnAk3-EyE1989: Oh

SnAk3-EyE1989: Some people think dreams are the way our brains occupy themselves when we're asleep

SnAk3-EyE1989: but nightmares are usually messages, if it had anything to do with real life

FateK!ller: I can't really decide if it does, or not

SnAk3-EyE1989: People have even said that dreams are messages from a higher being, like a god, to warn us about something. Like a vision.

FateK!ller: Ok, yeah, I just got very creeped out in a short amount of time

SnAk3-EyE1989: Don't worry, that's normal

FateK!ller: Ok, now I'm tired… I'm gonna go.

SnAk3-EyE1989: Okie dokie.

FateK!ller: Don't stay up at all hours again

SnAk3-EyE1989: Blah blah

**(-oOo-)**

Shizuka was out of school for an entire two weeks. She told Kimimaro ahead of time that she wouldn't be accepting any visitors, and that anyone who wanted to come could just drop in hell.

"I don't like it," Neji said when Kimimaro replayed this message for the fourteenth time (every day for two weeks). "Why would she want to shun us like this? I'm going over there today whether she likes it or not, and you can't stop me, Kimi."

Kimimaro sighed. "I suppose not… just try to be civil? She's been feeling very odd lately."

"I think I'll buy her some flowers, or something," Neji said casually, sitting down on the bleachers during gym.

Ino gasped. "Ooo, I have the _perfect_ idea, Neji! I'll put it together after school and you can come pick it up!"

"Eh…"

"Just come by right after school mmk? Mmk."

Of course, going to visit someone who hasn't been in school for an entire two weeks is always going to leak out somehow. In this case, our leak had a name: Yamanaka Ino. Ino told Sakura, who told Hinata, who somehow told Naruto, who told Lee, who told Kiba, who told Shino, who didn't tell anyone at all because he didn't seem to have the power of speech, thus ending the guest list. But it was a rather long list, granted, and, considering the fact that the majority of this guest list was male, Shizuka was rather traumatized when she heard Naruto's bellowing voice scream "SHIZUKA-CHAN, WE'RE HERE TO CHEER YOU UP!"

She immediately yanked the door open, grabbed Kimimaro, and yanked him back in with her. They heard them argue for a few minutes before Kimimaro finally came back out.

"Shizuka-chan doesn't want any visitors, but you guys can hang out and see if she comes out eventually," he offered with a smile.

"Ok," they all said, everyone but Neji and Sakura heading to the TV room with Kimimaro.

Neji grabbed Sakura by the arm before she could walk away. "Sakura, can you do me a favor?"

"Um, sure, Neji, what?" she asked, clueless.

"_Please_ talk to Shizuka," he begged, his grip on her arm tightening. "It's driving me insane not knowing what's wrong with her. _Please _get her to come see me, at least?"

_He really does care about her… I feel bad for making fun of him all that time. _"Sure, Neji."

"Thank you!" he said at once, giving her a quick hug before running after the others.

Sakura turned to the door, smiling brightly as she knocked on Shizuka's bedroom door, holding a bouquet of lilies. "Shizuka?" she called, hoping her smile was conducted in her voice.

"…Yes?" came the pitifully quiet voice from inside. "Oh… Sakura… come in."

Sakura opened the door, finding Shizuka in the fetal position in her bed with the covers pulled over her head. "Come on, Shizuka-chan, everyone is waiting for you to come see us! We were all so worried about you, everyone came! Ino-chan came, and Hinata, and Naruto and Kiba and Lee and of course Neji came, and—"

"I don't think I'm well enough," Shizuka interrupted quietly. "I need to take a bath, also…"

"Kimimaro said you already took six baths by the time he was ready to go to school!" Sakura cried, sitting down on the corner of Shizuka's bed. "Maybe what's making you sick is the hot water?"

"No… I'm not sick..." Shizuka said quietly. "I'm just… always dirty…"

"…How could you be dirty if you took so many baths?" Sakura asked, clueless.

"Because… he treated me like I was dirty." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Like I wasn't worth being treated any other way…"

Sakura starred at the lump under the covers. "Who?"

There was no answer.

"Shizuka, who treated you like that?" Sakura demanded, crawling over and yanking the covers down from Shizuka's face.

Shizuka blinked up at her, then looked away quickly. "…I can't tell you."

"Why _not_?" Sakura demanded, making her voice sound very mother-ish.

"…Because you tell Ukon everything."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "You think I'd tell him something that you obviously thought was so important? You think I'm that shitty of a friend?"

"I didn't meant it like that… I just…"

"Shizuka, you tell me what's going on _right now_ before I go get Neji and make _him_—"

"NO!" she said at once, sitting bolt-upright, eyes wide.

Of course, Sakura noticed her eyes, but she was too preoccupied now. "Then tell me what happened!"

Shizuka gulped, and looked to the left, then her eyes rolled down to look at her hands. Then she was silent for a few minutes, as if wondering if she really should say anything. Then, finally, she spoke. "Itachi… h-he… um—" She gulped again, pressing the balls of her hands over her eyes.

Sakura's jaw dropped. Then she closed it. Then she opened it again. Then she shut it and went to sit next to Shizuka, curling an arm around her shoulders while the other girl cried softly.

"I didn't want it to be like that," Shizuka sobbed, leaning her head on Sakura's shoulder. "I wanted it to be special… with someone I cared about… like you and Ukon care about each other…"

"Kind of like Neji cares about you, right?"

Shizuka nodded, her lower lip trembling. "B-But now I'm like a total slut… Itachi thought I was… and now Neji won't like me anymore b-because I-I—"

"So, then, Shizuka," Sakura said coldly, trying something her mother had taught her a while ago. "You're a total slut, who's asking to be raped, aren't you?"

Shizuka looked up at her with streaming eyes. "W-What?"

"You must be! Itachi thought so! Didn't Itachi think so?" Sakura ranted, gaining power in her voice as she spoke each statement. "If Itachi thought so, you must be a slut! And you've got this sign on your forehead now to the entire male community that just screams 'Rape me!' don't you? Yeah, you must have one, because Itachi said so, right? _Right_?"

Shizuka gulped, her lower lip trembling, but her eyes raging.

_Just one more push, _Sakura thought, before speaking again. "Now, every time you try to act even the slightest bit sexual, guys are going to jump you because _you're_ a _slut_, right?"

"Hell, no, I am _not_!" Shizuka shouted, jumping up off the bed. "I am _not_ a slut! That bastard can eat shit! He doesn't control what I do!"

"But you said Neji wouldn't like you anymore because you're a slut!" Sakura taunted, smirking. _Hail provocation therapy!_

"Neji's not that shallow!" Shizuka snapped, crossing her arms.

"But if _Itachi_ said—"

"That asshole doesn't run my life!" Shizuka screamed, stomping her foot like a child in a tantrum. "I'll do what _I _want with _my_ sex-life, and anything he said or says can just drop in hell because I DON'T CARE! DO YOU HEAR ME? I—DO—NOT—CARE!"

Sakura beamed, applauding her. "There, see? Was that so hard?"

Shizuka stopped screaming to stare at her in silence for a few minutes. "You _planned_ that!"

Sakura smiled. "Yep! (heart)"

Shizuka was silent again, starring at her without expression. Sakura began to panic. _Oh shit, I just insulted every single ounce of pride she has! She's going to beat the shit out of me! I'd better—_

"Sakura, you're my BEST FRIEND!" Shizuka squealed, jumping on Sakura and throwing her arms around her. "Well, my best _female_ friend, anyway. Kimi is my best _male_ friend. But you can have two best friends, and you're one of mine! Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying hi to me at school the first day! Now we're going to be best friends for life because I'm _never_ leaving you alone again, do you hear me?"

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, and hugged Shizuka back. "Of course we're going to be friends! Like you could survive in the real world without me?"

"Let's go put on sexy clothes!" Shizuka squealed, jumping up and running into her closet. "You can change before you go home, but Ukon'll love it!"

Sakura grinned, getting up and following her friend into the closet. Trying on clothes meant that Shizuka was apologizing for being such a "head case," as she had once put it. And Sakura had just the outfit in mind…

"Hey, Sakura," Shizuka said, pulling on a sleeveless fishnet shirt.

"Yeah?" Sakura pulled on a red mini-skirt.

"You wanna take a belly-dancing class?" Shizuka asked bluntly, plucking a corset off of a hanger and putting it on and turning around so Sakura could zip it up.

"A _belly-dancing _class?" Sakura repeated, raising an eyebrow as she zipped the corset up. "Where did this come from?"

Shizuka shrugged, picking out a black skirt. "It's supposed to be fun, and it gives us a chance to show off how damn sexy we really are!"

Sakura nearly fell over. "What brought this on?"

"What's the problem?" Shizuka asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're sexy, I'm sexy. We're not fat or bulbous. We should totally take a belly-dancing class! And Ino and Hinata should come too!"

"You're suddenly very insane," Sakura stated, rolling her eyes as if annoyed.

"Ok, fine, if you don't want to show off the wonderful fact that you are, and remain, a woman, then so be it, but I'm sure Ino would want to go."

Sakura laughed at the face Shizuka pulled. It was something between a pout and an "Oh-my-gosh-I'm-cute-how-can-you-say-no" look. "Ok, fine, I'll go. But your dad's paying for it."

"Duh!"

**(Sakura's Diary)**

Dear Diary,

I gotta say: I'm really proud of Shizuka. She seriously bounced back, and is even more fun now then she was before. She's totally obsessed with Ino, Hinata and I "proving how gorgeous we are". She actually bought Hinata a corset and mini-skirt like the set she owns! And the belly-dancing class she signed us up for is really fun, although Hinata was a little shy, and is still kind of self-conscious. But whenever she stopped moving and started blushing, Shizuka would swoop down on her like a mother hen and say in an overly loud voice meant to be heard by the entire class, "Don't worry, Hinata, we're all just acting like the goddesses we should be!" After that, everyone in the class, even Hinata, got really into it.

We've made a lot of friends in the class, too. There's a lot of older women in the class but also a lot of girls our age, and they all just loved us to bits. Shizuka introduced us to a girl named Maya, who she met in the bell-session. She explained to me privately that Maya was also a victim of rape, and had just gotten out of a four-year abusive relationship, and was only our age. She also told me, rather cheerfully, that she and Maya were going to march in a 'Women Against Rape' or something like that, and that Ino, Hinata and I should join them, dressed as belly-dancers, to "proclaim our sexual independence." Ino instantly agreed, and I agreed because I wanted to support Shizuka, who I know is trying to heal something that, a few weeks ago, she thought was unable to be healed.

The other day, she told me she had tied Neji to his computer chair and made him listen to her tell him exactly what she wanted him to do to "support her new decisions". She said she told him that he would most definitely have to wait for her to make the first move, and that if he did try to make the first move, he would be severely "punished", and she said she left said "punishments" up to his imagination. She also said that she had explained to him very bluntly that she did love him, but that she had to feel totally comfortable with their relationship, or, regardless of love, she wouldn't be able to do it. Afterwards, she said he said "ok" even though he was blushing, like, fifteen shades of red at her forwardness of the subject of their sex-life (however non-existent it may be).

I'm so proud of her!

Dear Diary,

Today was the Women Against Rape march. Before we left, Hinata, Ino, Shizuka, Maya and I put on a show for the guys (Kimimaro, Naruto, Neji, Sakkon, Kidoumaru and Ukon) (Naruto showed up because Neji dragged him, but afterwards, Naruto had to run away with a nosebleed). Afterwards, we had a little time to spare before we had to go, so we decided to relax for a while. Shizuka and I sat on Neji and Ukon's laps, and they promptly informed us that, should we be willing to stay where we were for the rest of our lives, they would have no arguments.

The march was a lot of fun. We walked down a street, surrounded by on-lookers, and the entire march took about two hours, with about three hundred woman, including us. Shizuka told me, about halfway through the walk, that the entire time, she was thinking "In your face, Itachi!" because he wasn't controlling how she felt anymore. At the end of the walk, Neji, the twins, Kimimaro, Kidoumaru, Jiroubou and Tayuya were waiting for us. Shizuka ran over to Neji almost at once and jumped on him, and he talked to her privately for a few minutes. Afterwards, I asked her what he said, and she said he said he was very proud of her for "taking a stand or whatever" even though he didn't know why she did it.

Honestly, for a second, I thought he asked her to marry him, or something!

After the march, we all went back to Shizuka's. Ino and I spent the night, and so did Neji, but Hinata had to go home because she was feeling almost ill from the excitement, and Maya, bless her, had met a really nice boy at the march. Of course, she was only allowed to go out for sibs with the boy after Shizuka had given him the Third Degree about his private life and deemed him "worthy of her fellow goddess".

Shizuka and Ino spent most of the night lying on the floor in the TV room, talking absolutely non-stop, for at least three hours. Ino is totally into the whole "respect women" thing, which works for her, since Kimimaro practically worships the ground she walks on. Kimimaro told Shizuka that he and Ino were "just friends now" but, after Ukon brought out a bottle of sake (just for himself, but we all somehow got a few sips) and Ino had some, she got uppity enough to sit herself on Kimimaro's lap and kiss him a few times.

I think Kimimaro was about to pass out, seriously.

Of course, Shizuka was so pumped up from the march and the fact that Neji had had just a little but of sake and kept giving her all these kisses that she proceeded to relive her past reincarnation as a power drill. Then, at about three A.M., she abruptly fell asleep with Neji holding her, also asleep, and Ukon and I sat up watching movies, while Ino started falling asleep with her head on Kimimaro's shoulder. And poor Kimimaro, who would have been delighted with that outcome, was already asleep.

Dear Diary

It's the next morning, and Shizuka accused us of "disturbing her right to femininity in sleep" when we woke her up at twelve PM. But then I reminded her that we had a bell-dancing class at one, and she got up right away and ran into the shower, and came out wearing her most outrageous outfit (mini skirt, fishnet tights, sleeveless fishnet shirt and tube-top) which showed she was pretty hyper.

Ukon, Kimimaro and Neji joined us in the class that day, and all the other members thought they were just too cute, with their hands over their heads and swaying their hips and acting like they were totally gay. When one of the other girls, who didn't know us, asked Kimimaro for his phone number, he actually leaned up on Ukon suggestively and said "Sorry, I'm with him"! We all cracked up, and Ino pretended to be annoyed until Kimimaro ran out and came back with a bag full of jelly beans, her favorite candy. He's so sweet sometimes! I just want to glomp him!

Even though Shizuka's become even more outrageous then she ever was before, I'm still really proud of her. She told me she still thinks about what Itachi did to her, and that the thought of him doing it again drives her to the point where she almost wants to scream in frustration and fear, but, like she said, she wasn't going to let him rule her life. It's been almost a month and a half since her rape, almost Christmas (even though Christmas isn't a Japanese holiday, she wanted to celebrate it anyway because it was "a reason for Neji to get drunk again", to which he blushed and acted huffy), and she's never had a break-down after the time I yelled at her.

The other day, though, we were all at the mall, and Shizuka and I were looking through CDs, and she happened to turn around, and there was Itachi, standing barely two feet away from her, starring at us. Neji, Ukon and the others were in the store next door, and I was ready to run and get them, but she just smiled, linking arms with me as she gave the CDs another shuffle, then calmly walked up to the register, made her purchase, and then calmly led me into the store where the others were. When she turned around and saw no Itachi, she took a huge breath of relief, collapsing her head on my shoulder and feeling her heart.

"Oh, god, I thought I was going to fuckin' shit myself," she panted, gasping for breath. "Oh god, I was so scared… were you scared? I was scared." Then, she went and latched onto Neji's arm and didn't let go for the remainder of our stay at the mall.

A week or so after she told me about her rape, I asked her, when it was just here and me, in a sleep over, why she was acting so calm about it.

"You have no idea how scary it is, just walking around school," she said at once. "Every time I turn a corner, I think 'Oh my god, he's going to be right there, ready to drag me away!' even if I move in a pack."

When I pointed out that she had reason to feel that way, she shook her head. "I only got raped once. There's other girls, like Maya, who have been in relationships and been raped by men they thought they could trust. I don't have any room to be such a crybaby, because I haven't had the worst time of it."

Then, she whipped a piece of paper out of her nightstand and showed it to me proudly. It made me laugh till my sides split.

_I, Hyuuga Neji, promise never to rape Hakai-teki no Shizuka._

"It's a very handy document to have," she said importantly, folding it up and replacing it in the drawer.

"You made him drop blood for that?" I laughed. (A/N: In Japan, in order to show supreme loyalty or trust, someone would make a small cut on their finger and drop blood on a piece of paper. It's proof of trust, and also proof of a bond between two persons.)

"It's a bond of supreme trust that requires ultimate seriousness!" she practically shrieked.

I apologized, and we went back to talking about whatever we had been talking about. (I may not have gotten the details wrong, but the jist is in it)

Dear Diary,

Today during gym, Kiba made the somewhat catastrophic mistake of asking Shizuka why she continuously called every female being around her a goddess. She practically towered over him, spitting fire and brimstone, and said rather coldly and slowly, "Are you saying that womankind do not deserve worship?" He shook his head quickly and she moved on.

Later, on the way to seventh period, I asked her the same question, and she responded in a much nicer tone. She said, rather boldly in front of Neji and Kimimaro, that her womanhood, and mine as well, was "the stuff of legends" and that "every hero eventually becomes a slave to his woman". The fact that we are women, she explained, and the fact that our bodies belong to us, and us alone, makes us sacred enough to be treated as goddesses.

Then, she turned and gave Neji and Kimimaro very pointed looks. They quickly nodded and agreed.

I think I rather like that concept.

**(End Sakura's Journal)**

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**Chappie Info!**

**Inspirational Songs:**

_Summoning of the Muse, _by Dead Can Dance

_Start To Fly, _by Plus ONE

_Blackbird, _by the Beetles (lyrics posted below)

Blackbird singing in the dead of night  
Take these broken wings and learn to fly  
All your life  
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night  
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see  
All your life  
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

Blackbird fly Blackbird fly  
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly Blackbird fly  
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night  
Take these broken wings and learn to fly  
All your life  
You were only waiting for this moment to arise  
You were only waiting for this moment to arise  
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

THIS IS NOT THE END! Please don't think that it is! Oki?

Aku: Why are you being so paranoid?

I dunno, people might think I ended it…

Ok! Authoress responses!

**Dragonman180:** I had a mouth full of rice and chicken when I read your review, but now, the chicken and rice is all spew. Ew. Oh well. Again, don't worry: Itachi WILL be punished. Just… well… maybe not like that, unless Ukon finds out when he's in PMSing-male mode.

**Hinata's Biggest Fan Boy:** (Kenshin grin) Thank you! I like writing deep stuff like that, I just hardly ever get the chance to write it, because most of my fics are… not deep enough, shall we say?

**NarutoFreak101:** I had to put some comedy in or I was going to die… seriously. All serious and no funny makes for an unhappy SNG, no da!

**KageNoKatana:** O.o If you don't own it, how is he playing it? That's a serious oddity… oh well. (cuddles Yomi) O.o Lion thingy? Oro?

Aku: KNK-DONO!

**Andrea:** …Peanut? The fuck? Oh well, to each their own, right? Hee hee… she did get help: Sakura! (glomps Sakura) I like her sooo much in this fic, that I do! Oh my… your review was very long… I can't really respond to all of it, because… yeah, I don't always discuss what I'm going to do in my fics unless it's to reassure people… not even H-R knows where I'm going with this… but I do!

**RLN and IHN:** SHIZITACHI FLUFF MUST DIE! o.O I can't believe I said that… I wouldn't even dream of saying that in _Apprentice…_ You didn't miss Sakura's injuries… I just didn't mention them. My thought is: she's tough, I mean look how fast she recovered in the Chuunin exam from her fight with the Sound Nins, right?

**Jazzy Uchiha:** The Inu one is… yeah, I highly doubt I'm finishing it.

**Ginka:** ….white pony? Oro? Actually, I have to honestly say, Shizuka's reaction was a serious Hollywood stereotype. Most women who are raped act very, very calm. So yeah. But Sakura saved her before those feelings could manifest.

**Mika:** What, you mean you're actually going to FEED him? I would have strangled him by now.

**xl-twisted-lx:** Aren't those voids amazin'? I just love using them for random scenes like pulling a soccer schedule out of one… they're so handy.

**Meggido the Relic Hunter:** O.O Don't fee insulted or anything, but… YOU'RE A GUY? O.O… Oh well. SAKURA SAVED HER! YAY! Um.. what else… Your 'punishment' for Itachi had me falling off my chair and onto a hard-wood floor, that it did. Ha ha! But it was worth it, and I don't have any brain cells that would be killed by that collision, so, no worries. And… yes, Meggi, don't slap yourself when you TYPE that you slap yourself…

**Crazytreeotaku:** Yeah, I like keeping my readers confused… but we're all confused now, so it's all good.

Aku: CTO-DONO!

**DreamAnimeKitten:** GASP! KIMI PICS! YAY! I've been looking everywhere for them, but I can never fine any! Neji reminded me of a girl, too, but he was only freaking out so much because he really DOES care about her. So cute! Oh my god, Sakkon and Ukon are so hot…

**Meg Haze:** Violence IS good… but unfortunately, Itachi won't be punished for a while, now… Shizuka still has to get the guts to tell Neji…

**Isaac Says Booga:** Sorry Gaara was not in it at all this time! I am sorry! Yes! I shall slave night and day to make 300! (mopes) Even though that is impossible… and I still aim to make 20 chapters… which I probably will. I have everything planned out, yep.

**AznNarutogrl-91:** Hail updates!


	19. Blackbird Flies

**Crimson Love

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**Chapter Nineteen: Blackbird Flies**

"NEJI!"

Neji turned around just in time to get hit full in the chest by the burning ball of energy that was, and remains, Shizuka. He grunted, staggering, as she beat him repeatedly with her fists. It didn't hurt, but she certainly seemed to think it did.

"What're you getting me? What're you getting me? What're you getting me? What're you getting me? What're you getting me? What're you getting me?" she demanded, beating on him.

He blinked. "For… what?"

"CHRISTMAS!"

Blink-blink. _Oh shit, I forgot about that… _"Something… nice…" He scratched his chin, his eyes shifting around.

"What, what, what, what, what?" she demanded, tugging on him.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

"I don't wanna be surprised! I wanna know now!"

"…I'll think about it." He turned to walk down the hallway to his homeroom.

"NOO! TELL ME!" she shrieked, jumping on his back and getting him in a head-lock. People were starring at them, but she obviously didn't care as she wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him koala-style from behind as she shrieked at him to tell her what he got her.

Neji glanced back at her, hiding a grin. For a few weeks now, she had been abandoning her sunglasses more and more. Now, not only was it easier to determine her expressions, but Neji, personally, thought she looked better without the sunglasses covering her eyes. Granted, she'd had a few people ask her about her eyes, but the general reaction was "Oh, cool! Your eyes look awesome!" so, after a few weeks, she just stopped putting them on all together.

"Oh come on, just tell me what you got me!" she whined, tightening her grip around his neck.

"An engagement ring," he said bluntly, not at all effected by her koala-ness.

She starred at him. "A _what_?"

"Kidding." He rolled his eyes, walking towards class with her still on his back. "You should get to class. You'll be late if you don't."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you got me!"

Neji sighed, opening the door to his homeroom class. "Hey, coach."

"Hey, Neji." Genma, the Algebra 2 teacher, caught sight of Shizuka. "…And slave-driver."

She glared at him, pulling her eyelid down at him. "Shut up, soccer-freak."

"Why don't you come over here and make me?" Genma tipped his chair back on its back legs.

"Right. Onward, Neji!" she ordered, pointing in Genma's direction.

"…" Neji weighed his options. "No." He sat down at his desk.

She beat on him for a while, but, when she realized he wasn't budging, she huffed and crossed her arms, sitting on the back of his chair. "I am not moving from this spot until you tell me what you got me."

"I'll inform your teacher," Genma said casually, reaching for the phone.

"ARRGH!" Shizuka pulled at her hair. "I hate you two together! It's like the Pinky and the Brain!"

"…Which one's the Brain?" they both asked at once.

She crossed her arms, looking away. "You know what, I'm not saying."

Genma's battle aura burned. _Condescending little—_

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Speak calmly.

"Shizuka, if you do not shut the fuck up and let me get on with class, I will throw you out of this class bodily," Genma said in a calm voice.

"Just you try it!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

Temper vein. "I'm serious."

"So am I!"

HUGE temper vein. "I'm dead serious."

"And I said, so am I!" She crossed her arms, sticking her nose in the air. "I am a goddess compared to you, and I deserve to be treated as such."

Neji smacked a hand over his eyes as a few girls chattered their agreement that girls are goddesses. "Coach," he said, before Genma could rip Shizuka's head off, "can she just stay here for today only? She'll stalk you if you don't."

Shizuka nodded firmly. "Damn straight."

Genma weighed his options: deal with her for 45 small minutes, or the rest of his natural life.

Needless to say, he picked the 45 minutes.

"Only if she's quiet," he said coolly, sitting down at his desk and picking up the phone to inform Shizuka's homeroom teacher, thinking up a lie nice and quick. "Hi, Ibiki? This is Genma… yeah, Hakai-teki is in my class for today… morning detention."

Shizuka nearly fell over. Neji's sides nearly split from holding in laughter.

"Uh-huh. Ok. Yeah. Sure. Bye." Genma hung up. "God, I hate that guy."

"_Morning detention_?" Shizuka shouted.

"What else would you be here for?" Genma asked coolly, taking out his attendance records.

Shizuka crossed her arms, pouting and glaring at the same time. She and Genma had a semi-secret war going on for Neji's time. Genma wanted Neji for soccer stuff and figured he deserved Neji's time because Neji was a soccer-freak like him. Shizuka wanted Neji because he was her boyfriend and she figured she deserved his attention one-hundred percent of the time. The first collision had occurred, not when she demanded that he not keep Neji at all hours again back in September, but about a month and a half later, when Neji's two schedules collided.

**Flashback**

"_Neji, _what_ do you think you're doing?" Shizuka demanded, crossing her arms from where she stood at the end of the aisle in the boy's locker room._

"_AHH!" All the other boys freaked out, struggling to cover themselves, but Shizuka didn't notice as she walked past them towards her victim. _

_Neji gulped, in the process of pulling on his goalie jersey. "Um… I'm… getting dressed?"_

"_You said you were coming home with us today," she said in a cut voice, jabbing him with her finger at every forced syllable. "What do you think you're doing in soccer practice?"_

"_Um… I forgot?"_

"_Wrong answer!" Grabbing him by the back of his halfway-on shirt, Shizuka dragged Neji away, down the aisle towards the door. Behind her back, he gave pleading looks to his teammates._

"_Just where do you think you're going with my goalie?" Genma demanded as she walked past him, terrified Neji in tow._

_Shizuka turned on him. "Neji is going home with me like he promised."_

"_Noo, Neji is staying at school and practicing."_

"_The hell he is!"_

_Genma was taken aback. Was someone _defying_ him? And a freshman, at that? No one _ever_ defied him! Ever! He was Genma, damn it! Everyone listened to him! People (i.e., the staff and his team) feared him! Ladies loved him! Why wasn't this girl scared?_

"_Neji," Genma grabbed aforementioned goalie, "is staying to _practice_."_

_Shizuka's jaw dropped. How dare he take her boyfriend away from her! And a measly soccer-coach, at that! No one took _her_ boyfriend away! Never! She was Shizuka, god damn it! She was practically omnipotent! Seniors (i.e., Ukon and Sakkon) feared her! How dare this guy take her boyfriend away!_

This won't end well, _Gaara thought from where he was sitting against the wall, waiting for the rest of the team to come out._

"_Neji," Shizuka grabbed aforementioned boyfriend, "is going home with _me_."_

_Grab. "No, he is not."_

_Grab. "Yes, he is!"_

_Grab. "No, he is not!"_

_Grab. "Yes, he is!"_

_Grab. "No, he is not!"_

_Grab. "Yes, he is!"_

_Grab. "No, he is not!"_

"_Please stop, you are making me dizzy!" Neji wailed as he was passed around again._

**End flashback**

"Tell me what you got me," Shizuka hissed in Neji's ear while he worked on the drill.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because."

"'Because' isn't an answer."

"Just because."

"Because _why_?"

"Because I said so."

"Ple-e-ea-a-a-ase tell me what you got me?" she begged, laying her head on his shoulder and looking up at him with sparkly Shojo-eyes.

Neji gave her a sideways glance, then went back to his drill, using all his will power to do so.

"Oh my god, Neji, you're so mean!" she said loudly, sitting back so her voice projected.

Neji looked around quickly; a few of the guys in class were laughing at him or giving him the thumbs up, while the girls in the class wrote notes to each other, or Shizuka. One of said girls passed said folded piece of paper to Shizuka, who opened it behind Neji's head, where Genma couldn't see.

_Oh my gawd, are you, like, Neji's girlfriend?_

Shizuka sweat-dropped, writing back.

_Well, durr._

_OH—MY—GAWD. You are SOOO lucky! He is SO hot! If there was, like, a fan club for him, I would, like, TOTALLY join! I heard there, like, use to be one, but it got, like, destroyed._

Shizuka snickered, thinking of that pathetic club. Oh, yes. That club had been found out. And destroyed.

But the response from the odd girl went on.

_But I like, am totally jealous of you now! I was in his class last year, too, and I thought he was just the HOTTEST guy out there! This year, apparently, it's the little Uchiha Sasuke boy, but oh well. I used to have the BEST dreams about Neji, it was so awesome, I'd wake up and see him that day and—_

_Ok, ew,_ Shizuka thought in disgust, crumbling up the note and stuffing it in her book bag. _Too much information. _

Neji saw TenTen giving him the Evil Eye while she copied the drill, but he chose to ignore her, since she hadn't even spoken to him since the sleep over. He was well-aware that TenTen hated Shizuka, and he was also well-aware that Shizuka had absolutely no idea. Yet.

Shizuka seemed to notice TenTen's glare, because she leaned down and whispered in Neji's ear, "That girl looks like she's got a hernia or something."

_Ok, maybe she'll know now… _"I know. She's looked like that for a while, now."

"I should go talk to her, maybe she needs a confidence boost," Shizuka mused.

Neji's warning signs twitched. "No, no, that's ok, she's… she's confident enough."

"Why do you keep glaring at me?"

Neji whipped around, eyes wide. Sure enough, Shizuka was across the room, standing beside TenTen's desk with her hands on her hips. _Oh, no… _He groaned, banging his head on the desk surface.

TenTen looked up at Shizuka with another deadly glare. "Because I can."

Neji saw a temper-vein appear briefly on the back of Shizuka's head, but it quickly disappeared.

"Why, though?" Shizuka asked, crossing her arms.

"Because you're annoying and you're disrupting the class."

"Girl, please," Shizuka said with a scoff. "You know as well as I do that no one in this class gives two shits about Algebra."

"Hey!" Genma snapped from the front of the class room.

Shizuka turned to stick her tongue out at him. "It's true."

Neji banged his head on his desk some more.

Shizuka turned back to TenTen. "Since we're both girls, and both, therefore, goddesses," here there were murmurs of thought amongst the other girls, "I'm not going to punch your face in. But stop starring at me. It's rude, and you're not pretty enough to think I stole your chances."

_Oh, burn_, Neji thought, working on his drill.

After class, since Neji's and Shizuka's second period classes were close to each other, they stopped at each other's lockers. While Neji was opening Shizuka's locker for her (Yes, she was still incapable of opening it independently), Shizuka leaned up on the lockers next to them, arms crossed, starring at the floor, deep in thought.

"There we go." Neji stepped back, grinning, opening the locker.

"Thanks," she said bluntly, going and getting out the books she'd need.

Neji starred at her, frowning. "Ok, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" She looked up from sorting her textbooks in her book bag.

"Come on, seriously," he said, crossing his arms. "You're always sarcastic, or overly excited, when I get your locker open."

"Do you want me to be overly excited?" she asked sarcastically.

"…No, not really, no," he admitted. "But I _would _like you to tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong," she said at once, slamming her locker shut with the force of a speeding bullet.

"…Are you still thinking about what TenTen said?"

"What part?"

"The 'you're annoying' part."

"I don't know," she said, almost carelessly.

"…Ok," he said, totally not believing her, as they started towards class.

"…So?" she said, after a long silence.

"So… what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Am I annoying?"

He nearly toppled over. "I thought you weren't thinking about it."

"Maybe I am, now that you mentioned it," she said coolly, crossing her arms.

Neji thought about it, while she stared at him. "I don't think you're annoying," he said slowly. "I mean, you'd be annoying if you were one of those whiny girls who'd be like, 'oh save me from the bug, Neji! Save me!'" he said in a mocking, girly voice, clasping his hands in front of his face. "That would just be annoying. I like you this way," he ended, putting at arm around her waist and offering a smile.

She smirked. "Good answer. If you'd said anything else, I might have to break up with you, after deeming you unworthy."

Neji grinned sheepishly. _Yeah, right, _he thought, not letting it show on his face.

**(-oOo-)**

Now, granted, Konoha High was a very loud school. You had your cheerleaders, your pep squad, your Narutos, your Kibas, your Shizukas, and, occasionally, your rabid angry soccer coaches chasing aforementioned Shizukas. But nothing compared to the noise erupting from the building at the last bell.

"WINTER BREAK!" all the students screamed, rushing out of the building. (A/N: Since they don't celebrate Christmas, poor things, and thus, don't have a winter break, I'm giving them one anyway.) The courtyard outside instantly became a battle field as students fought to get to their buses, or rides, or to the student parking lot. Ukon and Sakkon shoved their way through, making a path for the others, grimacing as two girls started clawing at each other.

"This is insane," Kidoumaru stated blankly as they crawled into the safety of the limos. "It's _just_ two weeks."

"If they're so desperate for vacation, they should just get themselves suspended," Tayuya put in, turning on the little TV in the limo.

Meanwhile, in the other limo, which contained Ukon, Sakura, Hinata, Shizuka, Neji, Gaara, Kimimaro and Ino, Shizuka was resuming her quest to find out whatever Neji had gotten her for Christmas.

"Don't you want to be surprised?" Ukon asked in a long-suffering voice, leaning his chin on his hand and leaning the elbow linked to said hand on the window sill.

She turned and stuck her tongue out at him. "I'll be surprised by _your_ present."

Neji, meanwhile, was doing a rather good job of ignoring her. He had Kimimaro's Game Boy on him, since the latter was currently "speaking to" Ino, and was, actually, playing a pretty good game, his tongue between his lips in concentration as he zapped evil minions of the dark force of whatever the heck he was playing. Suddenly, Shizuka's head appeared in his line of vision towards the screen, and he heard the nerve-racking sound of 'Game Over' as he was suddenly unable to see the scene, thus enabling him to dodge the evil minions of the dark force of whatever the heck he was playing.

"AH! Shizuka!" he protested, struggling to get the Game Boy into his line of vision. "Ohh… I lost…"

"Wow, you suck," she commented, taking the Game Boy from him ad examining the scene.

"_You _made me lose!" he cried.

"Pssh-haw," she said easily, tossing the Game Boy over her shoulder. Kimimaro yelped, breaking away from Ino and scrambling after his beloved toy. Shizuka turned Shojo-eyes on Neji: "_Please_ tell me what you got me?"

He crossed his arms, huffy now that he could no longer play the game. "No."

Now, let it be publicly known, Shizuka has been trying to get him to tell her what the hell this darn present consists of for… (counts on fingers) Ok, less then nine hours, give or take. And, as we all know, Shizuka has the patience of a wood-pecker on crack. So it was no wonder that the little sliver of patience she actually did have… now was gone.

"TELL ME WHAT YOU GOT ME, HYUUGA!" she ordered, grabbing the front of Neji's uniform and drawing her other fist back.

He caught the fist annoyingly easily, having caught the exact same fist many, many times since the beginning of the semester, and shook his head. "Ask Hinata. I never tell what I give people."

Shizuka turned on Hinata, who instantly nodded vigorously in agreement to her cousin's statement. This instant act of submission, however, diverted Shizuka's attention to Hinata. "Hinata-chan," she said, moving to sit next to the younger Hyuuga, "next time someone looks at you like that, I want you to say 'What're _you _lookin' at, freak?' ok?"

Hinata seemed appalled by the very idea. "B-B-But then Th-they would be a-angry…!"

Shizuka feather her hands out, as if this were the obvious point. "Duh!"

Ukon turned to give Shizuka a look. "What are you driving into that poor girl's head now?"

Shizuka glared at him, flipping him off. "There, see?" she said to Hinata. "Easy."

Hinata instantly turned bright pink. "I couldn't d-do that to someone!"

"Yes, you can," Shizuka insisted, grabbing hold of one of Hinata's fingers and curling back all but the middle finger. "See, look?" She held up said middle finger to Neji, who raised an eyebrow. "'Bet you been waiting a short forever to do that, huh, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata made no answer, causing Neji's eyebrow to quirk.

"Shizuka-sama, stop torturing people," Ukon said tiredly, starring out the window.

"Ukon-chan, stop telling me what to do," Shizuka said, mocking his tone.

Ukon's eyebrow quirked, as well.

"See?" She turned to Hinata again. "You can not believe how fun that is!"

Hinata blushed lightly, twirling her fingers around themselves. "I'll try…"

"Ok, then!" Shizuka turned back to Neji. "So, what'd you get me?"

Neji face-faulted.

**(-oOo-)**

Skipping a few days because sand-nin-gurl is lazy…

Actually, it's more like, skipping a week, but oh well. You get the idea.

Anyway.

Ahem.

Ukon prided himself on being one of those unshakable people. Sure, he could be a little surprised now and then, but, honestly, he was pretty much made of stone. (Inner-Sakura: **LIKE HELL HE'S MADE OF STONE!**) He didn't get shocked easily. In fact, if one were to compare him to anyone, it would probably be Kakashi, who faces the entire world with a bare-faced lie and a "…Huh?" Except that Ukon didn't look like he was THAT high.

However, it is an undeniable truth that the "unshakable" among us, will, eventually, have their days when they get scared so badly that they face the rest of their life with a flashlight and a divination tablet. For the near-comatose Ukon, that day… was today.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, UKON!"

Ukon's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he quickly zipped out of the room, leaning his back against the wall next to the door, taking long, deep breaths.

No, that was not his living room.

That could not be his living room.

Actually, he didn't own a living room, but that's beside the point.

That could not be the living room in which he had spent oh so many a day semi-drunk with his little social group.

Convincing himself thus, he stuck his head in again.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS, UKON!"

He nearly fell over. "What the hell is going on!" he shouted in response to the new atmosphere. "Why are you all awake?" he shouted, pointing to Tayuya, Kidoumaru, Sakkon, Jiroubou, Shizuka and Kimimaro. "Why are you here?" he shouted, pointing to Neji, Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Kiba (Wtf?), Haku, Naruto, Gaara, Temari and Kankurou. "And why is the room so sparkly?" he added, pointing to the humongous Christmas tree in one corner, and the many odd Christmas decorations Tayuya and Kidoumaru had bought off of eBay. "It's too early to be sparkly!" his voice rising to a shriek. "I have not had my coffee yet!"

"Cool your jets, man," Sakkon said, rolling his eyes and tossing Ukon a Santa hat. "We're celebrating Christmas today, remember?"

Ukon starred at Sakkon, who was also wearing a Santa hat. "What… _happened_ to you?" he asked in a careful voice, the hat hitting his chest as he ignored it.

Sakkon shrugged. "No idea. I woke up with it on." (Naruto & Kiba: PEACE!) "Anyway, hurry up, I wanna open presents."

Ukon perked up slightly. "Presents?"

Shizuka nodded, pointing to the huge pile of presents under the tree. "You _did_ buy presents, right?"

Ukon thought for a moment. Yes, yes, he did vaguely remember something along the lines of "gift shopping" with Sakura, about a month ago. However, he had forgotten about the presents, and the fact that said presents had to be wrapped, and the bag of presents had remained in the deep dark depths of his closet ever since. "Uh… yeah… hang on a sec."

He ran out of the room, stopping in the kitchen to grab the aluminum foil before zooming into his room and into the closet. Grabbing the bag of presents, he dumped the contents on his bed and started doing a five-second job of wrapping them in the tin foil. Thankfully, he still remembered which present belonged to which person, and made mental notes on which disfigured present belonged to which person. Finally, two minutes later, he ran back into the living room with an arm load of presents. "Yup, see, I got presents!"

"…Forgot about 'em again, did you?" Sakkon asked, taking in the tin foil.

Ukon glared, kicking Naruto out of a chair and sitting down. Sakura sat on the arm of the chair, impatient for her gift, which he gave her. Her present was the only one that he hadn't had to wrap in foil, since it came gift-wrapped. Shizuka restrained herself from ripping the wrapping paper off of Neji's gift to her, to watch Sakura unwrap Ukon's present.

There was a long silence.

"Um… it's real, so it won't turn your finger green or anything," Ukon said quickly, as Sakura starred at the little box.

"What is it?" everyone asked at once.

"A ring, duh," Sakkon said, as if they were all idiots. (Which they are…)

"WOW, REALLY?" Ino cried, whipping around to stare at Sakura.

Now, barely two weeks prior to this event, Sakkon had gotten bronchitis. And of course, because Sakkon and Ukon shared the same bathroom, Ukon shortly got bronchitis, as well. And, since Ukon and Sakura exchange saliva on a daily basis (i.e.: kissing), Sakura had bronchitis, so the only sound she could make in response to this present was a quiet, scratchy little "ahhhhhhh!" as she lifted the ring out of the box. It was a silver band, pretty plain, except that it had Sakura's name carved in the surface and filled in with light pink metal, and Ukon's name carved in the inner-surface and filled in with black metal. (Does that exist? Hmm… it does now)

"Ahhhhhhh!" said Sakura as she took it out of the box and put it on her finger. "Ahhhhhhh!" said Sakura as she hugged Ukon.

"Finally!" Shizuka said impatiently, attacking the wrapping paper enclosing Neji's gift to her. Paper flew everywhere in little confetti-size pieces as she attacked.

Everyone else: (sweatdrop)

Shizuka paused, having finally uncovered the long-awaited gift.

Neji backed away slightly, wincing as he thought of the supreme pain he would be experiencing if she didn't like it.

"…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she squealed, ripping the necklace out of the box and waving it around. "Omigawd, omigawd, omigawd, GODDESS JEWELRY!

When she held still long enough for them to see, they saw that the 'goddess jewelry' was a small, beaten enamel pendant on a chain. The pendant bore the sign of a woman holding a baby.

"I asked the people at the counter, and they said that represented the Goddess in European legend," Neji explained as Shizuka glomped onto him, squealing her delight at the present.

Everyone else's presents were either funny, thoughtful, or just disturbing. Gaara's present from Neji had everyone laughing, since it was a megaphone. Naruto, of course, got a lot of frog plushies and ramen discounts, for which he was very grateful (cough cough). Kimimaro got a lot of video games, and a joystick from Ino, which he received with sparkly eyes.

"As if he doesn't already have about ten of those," Kidoumaru said aside to Tayuya.

"This one is significant!" Kimimaro insisted, holding the joystick close.

"Oh, yeah, how?" Kidoumaru crossed all his arms.

"Behold!" Kimimaro held the joystick out.

"…It looks the same."

"Behold closer!"

"…This is bullshit." Tayuya pulled out a pair of coke-bottle glasses and put them on, examining. "…Oh… my… fuckin'… god."

Kimimaro beamed, stroking the tiny little heart sticker on the top of the joystick with a sparkly little smile.

"Where's my present?" Temari demanded boldly of Sakkon.

He shrugged. "Probably still in my room."

"Why?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

"…Because… I forgot… to bring it?" he offered, looking around for assistance.

"Hmph. Fine. Come on, Kankurou," Temari ordered, heading out of the room.

"Uh… ok…" Kankurou got up, and Gaara, who wasn't invited, also came, but only to make sure Temari didn't burn the house down.

Temari somehow found Sakkon's door (Perhaps because there was a sign on his door that said 'SAKKON'S ROOM' with a smaller sign underneath that said 'KEEP OUT OR DIE SCREAMING'), and, after trying the handle, discovered it locked.

"Break it down, Kankurou," she ordered, stepping back.

"What? are you kidding me? This is hand-carved mahogany!" Kankurou cried, running a finger down the wood of the door.

"And your point would be?" she asked, after getting over the initial shock that her brother (HER brother) could tell the difference in wood.

"Tch, you have no appreciation." Kankurou sighed, cracking his knuckles.

"Not when there's presents involved."

"It's probably something lame like a book," Kankurou muttered under his breathe, bracing himself as he charged.

_**ZAP!**_

"…'Da fuck?" Temari starred at Kankurou with a dot-dot-dot face as he was thrown backwards from the door.

"What the hell!" Kankurou shouted, recovering quickly as he jumped up. He frowned, picking up a stick that randomly appeared from The New Void, and lobbed it at the door. Not only did the door zap the stick with electronic whatever, but two torches also appears out of the wall and torched the stick.

Temari: "…O.O"

Kankurou: "…o.O"

Gaara: "…"

"I will not be beaten by a door!" Kankurou said boldly, picking up a crowbar that he also got from The New Void.

_This will be interesting, _Gaara thought, taking out the video camera he'd gotten from Ukon.

* * *

**UP NEXT!**

Christmas: The continuation

New Years: Alpha really goes wooga

Kitchen Secrets: Shizuka bakes a cake!

**Review responses! (Heavenly music)**

**KageNoKatana:** Go Zana… she and Shizuka are, like, separated at birth, or something…. O.ox

**DreamAnimeKitten:** No, the boys don't know about it. She hasn't told them yet. Kimi is SO sexy! I found a picture of chibi kimi and have it has…. Well, actually, it's just sitting in my folder but yeah. I have it. Lo.

**Dragonman180:** Mean usually ARE helpless in that situation… but it's ok. No one expects you to console Shizuka. She's working on Hinata… slow and steady wins the race, no da! Except… I doubt Shizuka has that kind of patience.

**Andrea:** Yes, that update was fast… but this wasn't… oh well… HAIL GODDESSES! Anyway. Ahem. No, the boys don't know yet. Only Shizuka knows (and Maya, obviously). Your nickname for Gaara makes sense now…I didn't get it at first but now I do. (heart)

**RLN and IHN:** Kimi is awesome! (heart) Ohh… give your friend a hug from me, ok? And pass the goddess theory on to her! (heart) Hinata will show up… sometimes… she's not my favorite character, but I work her into the story every once and a while, you know? (heart)

**NarutoFreak101:** I was like that in school, too! Holy crap! But then again…Shizuka IS based off of moi, so yah. O.ox As long as _Apprentice_? Holy crap… maybe… just maybe… you never know.

**Hinata's Biggest Fan-boy:** Glomp is recognized by my dictionary in Word Doc now! I'm so happy! And… yeah. You're dense, no offense. But… HOLY CRAP THAT RYTHMS! (feels touched by god)

**Mika:** Just kill him, man… kill him… KILL! (seeth seeth)

**Kie-san:** YOU GOT TO GO TO L.A.? Lucky… (pout) Hell no, I'm not going to END it! Holy crap, dude, I still gotta punish Itachi! And Orochi! And… yeah, TenTen needs to seriously bug off. I'm proud of Shizuka, too! (heart) Ino and Kimi aren't really… "official"… but they kiss and hug and whatnot… yeah. They're odd. Plus ONE has the coolest lyrics for some songs, no da!

**Crazytreeotaku:** Hell, yeah, dancing gay men! (heart) She didn't completely bounce back though… she's a little unsure. No, Neji didn't find out… he will eventually, maybe. Rape isn't something you proclaim to the world, tho.

**Flaming Sakura:** I'm not going to put the whole story into Journal, but it sure as hell helps when I don't feel like explaining stuff. In response to the O.C. thing… unfortunately, this plot was already planned out, and I don't want to add anything that would mess it up, not that you would. Just that, I had it all planned out the way I wanted it to be when I started writing, and I want the ending to stay the same. Sorry. Also… the Ukon picture… yeah, e-mail me and I'll give it to you. My e-mail is in my profile.

**IsaacSaysBooga:** Actually, it's not unrealistic at all. see, I went to this site and they had all these facts, and I just followed their advice. The goddess thing is to help recognize your sexuality as not being something to be soiled by rape and whatnot. It's odd but it makes sense to me. (heart)

**Jazzy Uchiha, Aka Yuki-hime, epuneyujah, AznNarutogrl-91, Riyo Shiban, AlphaC, Ginka:** Thank you all for your reviews! Unfortunately, they either didn't have enough to comment fully on, or I'm just too lazy, but yeah. Thank you anyway!


	20. There's No Such Thing as Perfection

**Crimson Love**

This chapter was inspired (heavenly music) by the wonderful, funky movie that I just watched ten minutes ago, _How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days_. I just twisted it and made it unnatural.

Basically, I'm saying I don't take credit for any of this crap.

P.S.: Thank you to everyone who has said that Shizuka is an awesome O.C.! I'm glad you think so!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: There's No Such Thing as Perfection**

"Hinata-chan," Shizuka said with a smile, sidling over to her friend. "Aren't you going to go talk to Naruto, hm? Give him his present?"

Hinata blushed five shades of pink and glanced over at Naruto. The blond in question was currently busy ripping the wrapping paper off of every present placed before him, not really caring who the present was from, or what the present was, so she quickly looked away again. "I-If he w-wanted to talk t-to me, h-he would h-have—"

"Who frickin' cares? You have legs, you have a mouth, you go over and talk to him!" Shizuka insisted.

"B-But what if he d-doesn't like m-me?"

Shizuka starred at her for a few long minutes of agonizing silence. "Why the hell _wouldn't _he like you?" she said almost coldly, putting her hands on her hips. "You have a wonderful, adorable little personality, and not to mention the fact that _you're_ adorable, too!"

"But I-I'm not _you_, Shizuka-chan…" Hinata mumbled, poking her fingers together.

Shizuka blinked. "How does that make a difference?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ino said, coming over with sodas for both the girls. "Hinata's the cute little girlie down the lane, and you're the hot, sexy, warrior babe who controls life for her guy."

"I do _not_ control Neji!" Shizuka cried, looking mortified as she claimed her soda. Without thinking, she turned and informed Neji, who was across the room, "Neji, deep-fried stuff makes you fat. Don't eat it."

"Oh, ok," Neji said at once, putting down his deep-fried twinkie. (Yes, they do exist)

Ino cleared her throat loudly.

Shizuka's jaw dropped. "I don't control him!"

"Yeah, but he wouldn't dare break up with you," Ino pointed out, sipping her soda.

"He would if she acted insane," Sakura pointed out, coming over, as well.

"Well, any guy would break up with a girl if she acted insane."

"Ok, I'll make a bet with you," Ino said with a smile that read "death". "If you act totally crazy for the rest of the day, and he still doesn't break up with you, I'll give you a complete set of _Full-metal Alchemist_ manga."

Shizuka's eyebrows rose. "And what if he does break up with me?"

"We'll tell him we manipulated and harassed you into it," Ino said unblushingly.

Shizuka seemed to be thinking about it for a minute. "Fine, I'll do it," she said, after a long silence. "But if he breaks up with me, I swear I'll put a hurt on you," she told Ino.

"Ok, fine," Ino put her hands up defensively. "But I have an idea." She smiled. "I'll call my mom and have her drive it over."

"You're not going to, like, make him wear a shirt with your face on it, are you?" Sakura asked, eyes wide, as Ino asked Kimimaro to direct her to the phone.

Shizuka's eyebrows went up. "That's a good idea, actually," she said thoughtfully, walking away, swishing her soda.

Sakura's jaw dropped, and she started to go after her, but Ukon came over and touched her arm. "Hey, Saku-chan, I got something to show you," he said with a grin.

She blinked. "What?" she asked curiously.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the room, grabbing her coat off the hook as she passed. "It's outside," he said to her unasked question.

"It's not alive, is it?" she asked incredulously.

He gave her an odd, surprised look. "Of course not."

"Ok, then." For a second or two, she'd thought he'd gotten a dog or something, and she wasn't exactly partial to dogs. Besides, Ukon seemed like a cat-person.

Actually, considering he owned a cat, he probably most definitely was a cat-person.

"What is it?" she asked, her curiosity bubbling over.

"Close your eyes," he ordered as they left the house, a huge grin on his face, like an excited child about to show his new toys off.

"Ok," she said, closing them at once. She felt him go to stand behind her, his fingers going over her eyes. "I won't peek!"

"I refuse to believe that, you're sneaky." He guided her a little ways, making a few turns, until she left the cold sensation one feels when one is suddenly in a dark, cool place after being outside for a while. "Ok, stand there for a second and _don't look_!"

"Ok." She felt his fingers come away from her eyelids, and heard the dull clacks of his boots as he walked away. Then, the inside of her eyelids turned red as a light turned on.

"Ok, open them!" he called from some corner of wherever they were.

She opened her eyes as instructed, blinking a few times in the light. As soon as her eyes were adjusted, they popped open. "A _motorcycle_?"

"Not just any motorcycle," Ukon said with a grin, coming over from where he was standing next to the garage door. "It's a 2004 Harley Davidson XL883C Sportster Custom. The dimensions, in U.S. units length, is about 90 inches. The seat-height, laden by one person, is about 26 inches; the ground clearance is 4.4 inches. The rake steering head/trail is about 4.7 inches; the wheelbase is 60.4 inches. It's fuel capacity is 4.5 gallons and the oil capacity is 3.6 quarts. Its dry weight is 558 pounds. It runs on a POWERTRAIN Engine(3) Evolution®. It's displacement is inches to the third. It goes on eight miles per gallon, it's front laced, has a rear custom silver cast aluminum alloy,  
electronic speedometer; odometer; resettable tripmeter; diagnostic readouts. It comes in a lot of colors, but I got it in sierra red and black. Its special features are it's silver powder-coated engine with polished covers, a significantly reduced clutch lever effort a 4.5-gallon fuel tank, forward foot control, laced front wheel, disc rear wheel, chrome pull-back riser and a one-piece, two-up seat. It's my Christmas present to me!" he ended, throwing his arms around the handlebars. "I'm so happy!"

_Ok, yeah, I didn't understand a word he just said._ Sakura shivered at the thought of so many unknown words in the human language.

"And you get to wear the goofy-looking helmet."

"…What?" She blinked, coming back to reality. Ukon was sitting on the motorcycle with his legs propping it up on either side, a black helmet on his head, and was holding out a white ball-like helmet to her. _Surely he jests… He expects me to get on that thing?_

"Come on, chickie, we're burnin' daylight, lets go!" he called loudly, waving the helmet at her.

…_He's serious. _She hid a sigh, taking the helmet from him and putting it on. _Good thing I wore jeans today instead of a skirt like I was going to…_

"You know what, I take that back," he said, examining the effect of the white helmet on her. "That looks pretty darn cute."

Sakura managed to make her smile look real as she climbed onto the back of the motorcycle behind him and put her arms securely around his waist. Her mother would quite literally kill her if she knew her daughter was on a motorcycle, or, as Ms. Haruno called them, a "murder machine".

However, as soon as they had taken off down the driveway and out onto the street, Sakura completely forgot all about her mother's nagging as her anxiety was replaced by thrills as the air pressure picked up the tips of her hair and coat, waving them out behind her like butterfly wings. Ukon's hair tickled her face as the ends waved out from under his helmet; she heard him laughing excitedly as they pulled a sharp turn, which pulled them almost parallel with the road.

**(-oOo-)**

"What are you concocting this time?" Kidoumaru asked Shizuka haughtily as he helped himself to a can of soda out of the fridge.

"A way to surgically remove your extra arms," Shizuka said at once, not missing a beat.

Kidoumaru spit out a mouthful of soda, then turned on her. "No you will not!"

"Then don't get in my way," she said coolly, chopping a cucumber into thin slices.

Kidoumaru instantly began backing out of the kitchen. He crossed paths with Neji as he did, and gave the younger boy a warning look as he did.

Neji disregarded it, however, and went over to hug Shizuka. "What'cha makin'?"

"Munchies," she answered innocently.

"…Should I be scared?"

"No!" she snapped, giving him a glare over her shoulder.

"Ok, ok…" he said in a pacifying voice, holding his hands up in defense. "Anyway…" He leaned against the counter, pocketing his hands. "You wanna come over tonight and have dinner with me and my family?"

She blinked, looking up at him. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because my mom wants to play the mother-role for you," he answered carelessly. "I told her your mother died and she went into frantic-mode and ordered me on pain of death to invite you over for dinner as often as possible. This is effort number 1."

"Sure, I'll come," she said casually, going back to the cucumber, smacking his hand away as he reached for a slice.

"Oh, and, Sakkon and Tayuya are ordering pizza and they want to know what you want."

"Um… pepperoni and sausage," she answered.

"Okie dokie." He turned on his heel and went out.

Shizuka snickered slightly, taking out the bread and putting the cucumber slices on the pieces carefully.

**(-oOo-)**

"Of come on, Kankurou, it's just a door, give it up! I'll ask Sakkon later."

"NO! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY A PIECE OF WOOD!"

"…A piece of wood reinforced with 300 tons of cement and iron plating. I also suspect he's put five sentry guns and three gatling guns i—"

"Ah, who asked you, ya shrimp?"

Life status on Kankurou: Dead

**(Shizuka's Random Memo Pad)**

Ways to piss Neji off:

When the pizza gets here, force him to eat cucumber sandwiches instead of icky pizza

Present him with a "love tulip" that signifies our relationship and after secretly feeding it chemicals to make it die

Using photoshop, construct a virtual album of what our children would look like

Whenever am offered food, scream "Oh so you think I'm FAT?"

Make His-and-her t-shirts

When arrive over his family's house, remodel his entire bathroom in pink

When I meet his family, talk all about embarrassing incidents at school

When offered dinner (chicken teriyaki; I note it's especially cooked by Neji) refuse and claim to be a vegetarian and hope he doesn't remember that I ordered meat on my pizza

Demand full access to all his personal documents, such as diaries, so that I can "further discover him"

Think of dumb, wishy-washy nicknames that no one in their right minds would call him, such as Neji-wedgie, Neji-boo-boo-boo, and Schnukums.

**(End of Shizuka's Random Memo pad)**

"I don't know what it is, but I just can't crack this guy, Hinata!" Shizuka informed Hinata when the two girls were alone in the bathroom, supposedly fixing their make-up (even though Hinata didn't wear make up). "But I think that just proves Ino's point that he wouldn't break up with me, right?"

Hinata nodded shyly. "I suppose…"

"So it just proves that guys really do have feelings, right?"

"Of course…"

"So therefore, you should take Naruto's feelings in mind and break his 14 years of girlfriendless existence." (Isn't that odd? Girlfriendless is a word…wait, girlfriendlessness isn't… nevermind, it's not odd anymore)

Hinata's eyes widened. "I-I don't think I could!" she cried, blushing furiously.

"Oh come on, yeah you can!" Shizuka cried, looking annoyed. "If all else fails, I'll ask him for you!"

Hinata looked up at her hopefully. "You will?"

"…I said, if all else fails."

"…You will?"

"…if all else fails."

"So you will?"

"Sigh. Yes."

"Thank you, Shizuka-kun!"

HUG!

"…" _Once upon a time, I was spineless…_

**(-oOo-)**

Sakura shivered slightly, putting her arms around herself to block the cold out. She was sitting with Ukon on one of the balconies sprouting out of the sides of Shizuka's house, and it was jolly cold, to say the least.

Ukon gave her a worried look. "Are you cold?"

"A little," she admitted. (Inner-Sakura: **What, like you couldn't tell!**)

"Do you want to go inside?"

"No, I'm ok."

"…Just a second." Ukon disappeared into the house for a few minutes, then came out with a dark purple, fleece blanket. "Here," he said, wrapping it around her shoulders like a cocoon.

"Th… thanks," she said, a little startled.

He just smiled.

She smiled back, before looking down, beyond the fence surrounding the balcony, into the rose gardens and _sakura_ trees in the garden below them. There was a long stretch of deeply conflicting thoughts in Sakura's head before she finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"You're too nice."

Ukon looked up; he'd been leaning on the railing, deep in thought, before she'd spoken. "'Too' nice?"

She nodded firmly, determined to say what she wanted to say. "You're way too nice. No matter what I say, you're still nice. Even though you didn't want to meet my mom, you went anyway. And no how hysterical I got, you always tried to make me feel better. You're just too nice."

Ukon looked at her in silence for a few moments, then looked down again, resting his chin on the cross of his arms, which were rested on the railing. "I'm not as nice as you think..." he said quietly, so she could barely hear. "I lied to you… a while ago."

She turned to look at him. "When did you lie?" she asked, totally clueless.

"…You remember back when Shizuka-sama went out with Itachi, back in September?" he asked, in a somewhat dead voice.

She blinked, trying to think back. "…That night I fixed up at my house?"

He nodded. "Remember when I said that I never shot anyone, and I just gave them a warning?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

He looked away, his cheeks flushed slightly. "That was a lie."

"How was it a lie?" she asked, almost dreading the answer.

"I've killed a lot of people for Orochimaru-sama," Ukon answered slowly. "If people tried to take Shizuka-sama or Kimimaro, he told me to shoot the guys at once, without asking questions. When I was about ten, he told me to kill the first one. He had me practically bent to his will then, because I was younger, and more scared of him, but that wasn't why I did it. I could have just wounded the guy, like I told you I did, but I didn't. I shot him right between the eyes." He caught himself and turned, giving her an apologizing grin. "Sorry, I got into it so I gave you the gory details."

She hid a shiver, shaking her head. "It's fine; go on."

"Umm…" He thought for a moment, as if to try to regain his train of thought. "Oh yeah. It wasn't that Orochimaru-sama was controlling me, or anything, by the abuse. At the time, Shizuka and Kimimaro were just six. They were little kids, compared to me. They were scared. I mean, how would you feel if some guy just came up and grabbed you when you were four? I was defending them, kind of like I defend Sakkon. And you, too," he added, giving her a small smile and nudging her with his elbow.

Sakura grinned slightly, but was already lost in thought again, remembering whispers she'd heard a while ago, when she and Ukon were at the mall. A bunch of kids who looked like gangsters had hissed after them, saying in loud whispers, "There's the bastard!" "The one who—?" "Yeah, you heard me."

Ukon, however, had ignored them as if they did not exist, and continued walking. This, of course, had only infuriated the boys more, as one of them called out, "We're gonna get you one day, asshole! Just you fuckin' wait!"

But Ukon didn't even blink, and kept walking.

Sakura closed her eyes. Now she understood what the boys had been talking about. Had Ukon killed a member of their gang or something, and they wanted revenge? And he acted like he didn't even care?

"I don't regret what I've done," he said, as if reading her thoughts. "I care about Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro. I'm protecting them because it's my choice. If someone tries to take someone special from me, my feelings are—"

"Ukon!"

Ukon nearly jumped halfway out of his skin and whipped around. "O-Orochimaru-sama?"

Sakura turned, as well. Orochimaru was standing in the door to the balcony, blocking their exit. His eyes were livid.

"What are all these people doing in my house?" he demanded, seething angry breaths.

"It's a Christmas celebration, Orochimaru-sama," Ukon said slowly. "Shizuka-sama and Kim—"

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Orochimaru shouted, taking a step forward, urging a step back from Ukon. "I know you're behind this, you always are!" He turned to glare at Sakura, who didn't move. "Or was it you?" he demanded, his voice rising ever so slightly.

Sakura didn't respond, willing herself not to break eye contact with Orochimaru. This, however, was the wrong thing to do, as he took it for an act of defiance, and took several steps towards her, slowly closing the distance.

"You know," he said in a clipped voice, raising a shaking hand to point at her. "Ever since you started coming to this house, things have gone downhill! It's your fault Ukon has to be punished so much! You encourage him to disobey! You encourage him to defy me! Well, here's some news for you!" By now, he was standing barely an inch away from her, his finger poking hard at her shoulder with every clipped syllable. "You're not helping him at all! You're the one who's ruining his life! You're the one who's—"

"It's not me!" Sakura screamed, shoving his hand away. "You're the one who hits him! No one tells you to! You hit him just so you can have someone to hit! You just want him for your scapegoat! You want to be able to control his life, so you use his brother to make sure he does what you want! You're sick! You're twisted! You're a complete asshole! You're—"

_**SLAP!**_

"You… will _never_ take them from me," Orochimaru snarled, his eyes filled with rage. "Their lives belong to _me. _Who took them in when no one else would? _Me. _Who fed them and clothed them and sent them to school? _Me. _Who taught them how to protect themselves against people? _Me. _And what have you done? Hmm?"

Sakura didn't answer, her head still flung to the side from the slap, the fleece blanket slowly slipping off her shoulders, but she didn't bother to retrieve it. Ukon stood frozen, eyes wide and darting between Orochimaru and Sakura, looking terrified.

"_You _have let them live a lie that they are worth something to anyone but me. They aren't worth anything to _anyone_ but me!" Orochimaru growled, his voice rising ever so slightly. "What could they do in the world with what they know now? Be a security guard? Go to college? Feh! Don't make me laugh! You're giving them false hopes for something they can never achieve! I'm giving them something they can rely on: they work for me, I pay them, and I house them. But you've encouraged them to stand up to _me_! If you care at all about them, you'd leave them alone so they'll stay with me and be safe!"

"O-Orochimaru-sama…"

"Ukon," Orochimaru said in a completely different tone, turning to face Ukon, who visibly flinched. "Ukon, why do you torment me so?" he asked in a silky voice, taking a step towards Ukon, who didn't move. "Why must you do this to your poor master? Why?"

Sakura looked up as Orochimaru reached out and practically caressed Ukon's face, smiling wide as he did.

"You're such a bad boy lately, Ukon," Orochimaru continued, his pale hand caressing Ukon's face. "Why must you be so bad? Why don't you look me in the eye? You never speak to me unless I speak to you. Don't you care about your poor master? Even though I've been so generous lately? Why must you torment me so? Do I need to reeducate you?"

At the word _reeducate, _Ukon's eyes widened and beads of sweat trailed down his face.

"What is desired?" Orochimaru whispered, leaning forward so that his lips almost touched Ukon's ear. "What did you fantasize in that dark room of nightmares?"

**Flashback**

"_Tayuya… Tayuya… ask Orochimaru-sama if Ukon can come out and play… ask Orochimaru-sama if I can come out and play…"_

"_Orochimaru-sama says bad boys like you shouldn't be with good kids like me."_

"_Oh… ok… ask Orochimaru-sama if Ukon can come out and play by himself…"_

**End Flashback**

"Did you fantasize that you could see daylight again?"

**Flashback**

"_Say it! SAY IT!"_

"_I'm bad! I'm a bad boy! I did it! I did!"_

"_Make me believe you!"_

"_I'm a bad boy! I'm a really bad boy!"_

**End Flashback**

"Did you fantasize praise?"

**Flashback**

"_What a sickening child you are… what a horrible shade of lavender… What a sickening smell… you sicken me… it's no wonder your mother wanted you gone… you're so disgusting."_

**End flashback**

"Love?"

**Flashback**

"_I can't be that bad… I don't understand… I have more happy face stickers then anyone else…"_

"_Your teacher lied to you! You're so starving for attention you don't deserve, and she gave it to you!"_

**End flashback**

"Companionship?

**Flashback**

"_I read in a book that a woman put her son on a stove to discipline him… I can't the stove in, but I think hot coals and a few lit sticks will give you a lesson, won't they?"_

**End flashback**

"Did you fantasize that one day, you would have a friend?"

**Flashback**

"_I can't take this anymore, Ukon! You keep putting yourself in danger! I don't need you anymore! Just leave me alone, I'm sick of looking at you!"_

**End flashback**

"Did you think maybe you would be worth something?"

**Flashback**

"_No! Please! Don't do it again! I'll be a good boy! I _promise_! No! Don't hit me! You're hurting me!"_

**End flashback**

_No… _Ukon stared at the concrete floor of the balcony, his eyes wide with horror and fear and the sudden way of long-repressed memories. _All that time… in that room… when all I could hear was the sound of my own voice and Orochimaru-sama's voice mocking me… every time he would come in to punish me… all I ever dreamed of… was that someone would need me… really need me…_

"You didn't ask my permission if you could have another girlfriend," Orochimaru said silkily. "You didn't ask my permission of you could have your friends over. Give me a wonderful apology and I won't be angry with you, my poor, stupid little boy."

Ukon bowed, wary of exposing the back of his neck to Orochimaru. "I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama. I've been bad. I'm very sorry."

Orochimaru smiled a creepy, wide smile. "You are a very bad boy," he said calmly, before turning on his heel. He stopped to smirk at Sakura, who had been starring at them in wide fear, before walking away. The way he carried himself just communicated to the world how much he had enjoyed what he'd just done.

"I'm sorry… Sakura," Ukon said slowly, still starring at the floor. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

But before she could protest that Orochimaru had been full of shit, Ukon ran into the house, his head ducked.

Sakura starred after him, not sure whether or not to follow him.

**Flashback**

"_What is desired? What did you fantasize in that dark room of nightmares_?"

**End flashback **

**

* * *

Review responses! O.o wow, so many…**

…Due to the fact that I am very tired, I will only be responding to the first few… please know I did read all of them, and I enjoyed the, sorry if yours wasn't answered!

**Mika:** Killing is killing and killing is fun if you hate the person enough! It's all the same to me… READ AND BE REVIVED!

**Dragonman180:** Shizuka can't work miracles, but she's getting there… slowly. O.O He bit the heads off your lego figures? The fiend. Oh well. I used to chew lego pieces into deformity so I'm really no one to talk.

**Meggido:** Ooo One Piece? Did you see the anime on Toonami? Apparently, Sanji will sound like a thug! (BATTLE AURA) Zoro's voice is cool. O.o Fully fledged uber fic? (looks at number of chapters) YAY!

**Dream Anime Kitten:** Yes… go Shizuka, making Hinata flip Neji off… Hee hee!

**Kage:** The New Void is absolute! (especially since you killed the other one…) Aku was SEME! GO AKU!

**RLN and IHN:** Kimi could give her a rock and everyone would go Awwww…

**Andrea:** I loves Kakashi, too! (except that he picks favorites—COUGH COUGH, SASUKE)


	21. Dark Room of Nightmares

**RLN and IHN:** DIIIIIIIIIIEEE, OROCHIMARU! Yeah… Orochimaru knows no physical boundaries whatsoever. Man, this fan fic has made me hate so many people that I used to think were cool…

**Hinata's Biggest Fanboy:** Yeah, it is very true. And as for the long break: I was banned from the computer for two weeks, and then I hit a mental block for everything except my manga, and then… yeah. I couldn't think of how to word what I wanted to say.

**Kage:** Aku: BECCA-DONOOOOOO! Me: …..yeah. I just wanted to see your reaction. Lol.

**Sailor Tiamat:** Oo Carebear land? Wow you just really hate him. Yes, I did know that Ukon is a type of flower. I did a lot of research into names before doing this fic. Did you know that Ukon and Sakkon are the most popular names for twins in Japan? Yeah. I'm glad you like Shizuka!

**Dragonman180:** Tsk tsk, you poor thing… oh well. I eat legos too, so I'm no one to talk… (sweat sweat) Anyway. I cant say anything about their future because that goes against my policy, no da! (Kenshin grin)

**Andrea:** I've been on a motorcycle once… and the guy was really crazy. Almost Ukon-crazy. And on s die-note, you're not SUPPOSED to like Orochi…

**A random student:** HAIL LLAMAS! THEY SHALL RULE THE WORLD! ….Yeah, that was random. Ukon treats himself to stuff a lot… I mean, when you have that much money and it takes so little to make your girlfriend happy, what else are you gonna spend it on, you know?

**Meggido:** YAY! UBER FIC! (does the happy pencil dance) I couldn't have her say anything, because that would break the train of memories, no da.

**Crazytreeotaku:** I'm good at writing disturbing things, apparently… It's one of my gifts. (strikes pose)

**Kie-san:** I think most of your review may have been explained in this chapter… you have a habit of writing reviews like that.

All the other reviews were…. Yeah.

**

* * *

**

**Crimson Love**

**Chapter Twenty-one:**

**Dark Room of Nightmares**

"Dammit!" Thud. "Dammit!" Thud. "Dammit!" Thud. "Dammit!" Thud. "God fuckin' dammit!" _Thud. _"DAMMIT!" _THUD. _

Ukon closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself as he sunk to the floor of his room, his back to the wall. His head ached from being beaten against the wall. _She wasn't supposed to know! _He screamed inside. _She wasn't supposed to know… She wasn't supposed to know…_

_My biggest secret…!_

**Flashback**

"_And then, and then, Daddy, guess what? Guess what happened next, Daddy!"_

"_What happened next, Shizuka-chan?"_

"_I got _knocked out_! Isn't that cool?"_

"…" _Orochimaru turned slowly, looking at me. At that moment, I felt my first taste of a fear that I would feel continuously for years._

_  
"Come with me, Ukon," Orochimaru said silkily, beckoning me with his hand._

_I paused, slightly, unsure, but followed him anyway. What's the worst he could do? I thought carelessly. I was soon to learn that carelessness could get me killed._

_He led me to a part of the house I'd never been in before, down a bunch of dark, empty hallways and doors. Then, finally, he opened one last door, and stepped back so I could go in ahead. I went in, curious; it was dark in the room and even darker when he closed the door. It didn't even occur to me why he closed the door. I was very trusting back then. It surprised me when I felt him kick me in the back, his heel digging into my spine as I fell over onto the floor, instantly terrified and confused._

"YOU STUPID FUCKER! HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU LET HER GET HURT LIKE THAT!"

_It hurt more then anything I'd ever experienced in my entire existence. It was so dark; I couldn't see where he was coming from. I couldn't tell if he had a stick in each hand, or if it was just one. But the blows came from everywhere. I scrunched my eyes up, put my hands over my head, pulled my knees up to my chest, and prayed to whatever god would listen that it would stop._

_After what seemed like hours, I heard the clatter of the stick dropping, and felt him lean down to whisper in my ear: _

"Don't get too confident. You're not good enough at anything to be confident."

_Tears leaked from every corner of my eyes; I couldn't help it; I had tried so hard to find a place where I could belong._

_Then, he stood back, and I heard him pick up the stick again._

"_You'll stay in here," he told me, as if this were a great treat. Then he was gone._

_When my eyes finally became adjusted to the dark, I realized there were no windows in the room. No color on the walls. No carpet on the floor. Everything was endless white. The pain was unbearable; every inch of me ached; I was sure I was covered in bruises, but I couldn't see them. I would have given anything to have had a window—any kind of link to the outside. I felt like a prisoner. I couldn't stand the white, or the hard floor. I felt like I was in a bubble or plainness, and the plainness was crushing me._

_That's when I started to lose it._

_My arm hurt the most; at first I thought I'd broken it, but Orochimaru-sama had taught me enough about First Aid to know that it had just gotten a lot of damage that had originally been meant for my head. I tried instead to ignore the pain and just think._

_I'd never been hit like that in my entire life. The fight with the bully who provoked Shizuka-sama a few hours ago didn't hurt nearly as much as what I felt now. What had I done to deserve this? Shizuka-sama was alright—she'd only been knocked out for a few minutes, and all she had to show for proof was a small bump on the back of her head. That was it. It wasn't like I'd hurt her myself. Why did Orochimaru-sama have to hit me? He'd always told me how proud he was of me; he said I showed more promise then the others; he complimented me like Dad used to compliment me._

_What had I done _wrong?

_Orochimaru-sama came every single day. When he was here, I wasn't allowed to talk, and I wasn't allowed to look at him (not that I was able to see him—the light from him opening the door usually made me lose my awareness of the room) unless I had his permission to do so, and when he did give permission, he would always sneer at my words, or laugh at my insecurity around him. Sometimes, he would just stand or kneel in front of me and tell me what a failure I was. During these times, I would sit with my back to the wall, my limbs limp, staring at my knees, letting the words wash over me. After a while, I began to think that they were true. I began to think that I was a failure. I didn't bother to wonder if Orochimaru-sama was brainwashing me._

_But because I would never react the way he wanted (crying or whatever), he soon switched to psychiatric torture, which was simple, but, in this case, very affective. He sat with his back against the wall across from me, and requested that I tell him about my childhood. But whenever I started to speak, he would laugh at me. It confused me, at first: why laugh when you wanted me to speak? But when it started to sink in that maybe he really didn't want me to speak, he would always leave, telling me "If you're a good boy, maybe I'll let you see your dear sweet brother again."_

_This only served to torment me more, and I always forgot about him laughing at my voice. _See_ my brother again. _See._ Enemies usually said that when they had killed a family member. They would say something like "do you want to see your mother again?" or something to that extent._

_I began to worry so much that my entire body started to shake. Maybe Orochimaru-sama _did_ kill Sakkon._

_Other times, however, when he didn't feel like torturing my mind, he would torture my body, instead. He was very good at finding "new games" to "play". For example, one time, he brought in a huge tub of cold water, set it in the middle of the room, and told me to strip down and lie in it. At first, I started to refuse, but he grabbed my hair by the roots and ordered me to. So I did. The water was freezing. He kept me in the water for hours and hours, telling me, at the beginning, that he had read in a book about a mother doing this to her child. He told me the book was called "A Child called 'It'."_

"_That's what you are," he said with one of his wide, scheming smiles. "You're the child called It. Congratulations on losing your humanity."_

_Then he left._

_I couldn't believe it. Not only did he control how I thought about myself, or how I spoke, or moved. He had to control my humanity, as well. It was too much. Far too much._

_The tub of water was a favorite punishment of Orochimaru-sama's. He made me lie in there for hours and hours. Because there wasn't a clock in the room (not that I would have been able to see it) I couldn't count how many hours I stayed in that tub, but I didn't dare get out; if I got out, Orochimaru-sama would call me a "bad boy" and then I wouldn't be able to "see" Sakkon again. I measured when new days began by when Orochimaru-sama came to see me, so I must have been in the tub for at least five days, maybe more. When I was thirsty, I drank some of the water, not caring if it wasn't clean—it was water; that was all that mattered. When I was finally allowed out, I knew I looked like a pickled prune, but I didn't say anything. He told me to get dressed, already, but didn't give me a towel, so I put my clothes on my soaking wet body, shivering against the cold, and he told me to stand in the corner of the room, facing the wall. He seemed to find it very amusing that I had to feel my way around the room until I could find the corner. Then, I stood there for what seemed like forever._

_After at least an hour, my knees and legs began to hurt, and I started to get tired, but I didn't dare go to sleep. It wasn't that hard not to go to sleep; the burning hunger in my stomach kept me very awake. But I knew that if I fell asleep without Orochimaru-sama's permission, I would be punished again. That was what started my insomnia. I read later that some people have insomnia because of nightmares, and whatnot. I couldn't sleep because I felt weak and open when I did. One time, I did fall asleep, when I'd only been in then Room for one day. I woke up to find myself hanging upside-down by my ankles in Orochimaru-sama's hands. He shook me up and down until I was wide awake, and then dropped me, laughing excitedly, as if this were all a game._

_Even before all of this, when I'd only been in the Room for a day or so, I started to get hungry. I'd only had breakfast the day that Shizuka-sama got picked on, and by the time I'd gotten home, it had already been digested and I hadn't been able to get lunch because I'd been in the principle's office. By the next day, when Orochimaru-sama came in again, I asked if I could have something to eat; I didn't think it was an unreasonable question. The Room it's self wasn't really bothering me, but the pain and the hunger were. I thought maybe going without dinner was a part of my punishment for that night, sort of like a time-out; Orochimaru-sama had done it before with Tayuya or Kidoumaru when they had been "bad". But he'd sent them to their rooms._

_But instead of facing this like a normal question, Orochimaru-sama looked at me like I'd just asked the dumbest question ever. "Only good boys get food," he told me, before leaving._

_I started to hate myself. I hated the fact that I was powerless. I hated the fact that the Orochimaru who had been raising me since I was four years old, had turned into this horrible person. I hated the fact that no one seemed to wonder about my absence._

_I was lonely; I had always had someone with me, either Sakkon, or one of my friends, or even Orochimaru-sama. Orochimaru wasn't that much of a comfort now, so I started making my own friends. I didn't tell Orochimaru-sama about them. Why should I? In the long, angry hours when I stood in the corner, or lay in the tub, or just sat by myself against the wall, I created my friends. It didn't occur to me then that I was hearing voices. I just called them my friends. They all served their own purposes._

_One friend, Pain-Ukon, was something of a masochist. He liked pain, so whenever Orochimaru-sama hit me, Pain-Ukon would take it instead, and I could hide and play with my other friends._

_Yet another friend, Angry-Ukon, harbored my hate. He was angry at everyone in the world but me and my friends. He was great to argue with, and to vent on. Even after I got out of the room, he had most of the control until I met Sakura. He liked to sleep, and rebel. But he never took over when I was in the room. That would get us all in trouble._

_One of my best friends was Happy-Ukon. For some reason, Happy-Ukon was a girl. She liked music, and sometimes made up lyrics to her own songs on the spot, and sang them to me. She had a beautiful personality._

_For some reason I didn't understand at the time, making all these friends left me feeling empty. Later, I read an article about split personalities for a class, and was pretty shocked to discover that I had any. It never occurred to me that I had a split personality, because I'd always heard that you didn't know if you had a split personality—normally, people just black out, like in that one kid-anime. After reading further, I found a disorder that seemed to fit me, called "Dissociative Identity Disorder"; apparently, while I was in the room, I had separated all of my emotions so that I wouldn't have to feel weak (although I'm not sure where Pain-Ukon came from). I never told anyone about my personalities; I didn't see why I should. I had made them for myself, so why should anyone else know about them? They remained one of the few secrets I ever kept from Sakkon, and, surprisingly, was the easiest to keep._

_There was one period of time in the Room that I forgot completely. It might have been amnesia, but I don't think so, because I always remember when Orochimaru came in the Room, but never when he went out. It was a succession of entering, but never leaving within my knowledge. For a year afterward, I never remembered what happened during that time. There were a lot of memories in that Room that I made myself forget. I was very good at blocking memories, but at times I wish I could have kept a log, so that there wouldn't be so many blanks. After research later, I thought maybe Orochimaru-sama had given me Rohypnol, a drug that "incapacitated victims", but I never remembered eating when I was in the room, so I knew I had blocked the memories out._

_I only remember falling asleep once, after the first time, when I was in the room. While I was asleep, I had a strangely pacifying dream that I was telling Orochimaru-sama to shove it up his ass and leave me alone. When I woke up, Orochimaru-sama was strangling me, holding me a foot off the floor by my throat, his face in mine, snarling angrily at me._

"_What was that?" he growled. "What did you just say?"_

_I was totally confused; had I been talking in my sleep, or something? I tried to tell Orochimaru-sama that I didn't know what he was talking about, but he shook me by the throat, and the words were garbled._

"_Don't give me that!" he said in a clipped, dangerous voice. "You stood right there and told me to shove it and leave you alone!"_

_I starred at him, slightly dazed. "Uh… what?"_

"_You heard me!" he shouted, throwing me away. I hit the wall with a sickening crunch, but I barely noticed, as I was having an internal argument._

Did one of you come out while I was asleep?

Of course I did. I told you not to take any crap from him anymore.

Let me come out, Ukon!

I told you not to come out!

Well I wasn't gonna take his crap anymore, even if you were! I'm sick of it! Just let me out one more time, and he'll wish he was never born!

Ohh let me out, Ukon! He's gonna hit you, let me out!

NO! He's going to let _me_ out! NOW!

I can't do that!

Yes you can! Let me out! NOW!

I—

NOW!

_Before I had a chance to protest, I felt my conscience being pushed to the side as Angry-Ukon took over. It felt like I was blacking out; I couldn't hear or see what was going on, but when Angry-Ukon came back, he seemed really happy, and Orochimaru-sama was gone._

_After that, Orochimaru-sama left me alone for a while. Angry-Ukon didn't tell me if they fought or not, but I had a feeling they did. I wondered briefly if the reason Orochimaru-sama wasn't bothering me was because he was hurt, but I found myself not caring._

Yeah, let him get a taste of it,_ Angry-Ukon hissed, still obviously pleased with himself._

If he comes back, let me out!_ Pain-Ukon ordered, in a pouting mood that Angry-Ukon hadn't let him get hit._

_One day, Orochimaru-sama brought in a mirror and a hanging, battery-powered light. He fixed the light above my head and told me to face the mirror so that I could see myself. What I saw reminded me of those pictures I'd seen in books of Holocaust survivors; my face was hollowed, my eyes were sunken in, my clothes were hanging off my skeletal body; there was encrusted, old blood at my scalp, and from various already-sealed scars over my body. I was sickened; I couldn't believe that was me starring out of the mirror. I tried to look away, but Orochimaru-sama's hand on the back of my neck forced me to look at my reflection._

"_Look at it," he ordered. "It's you. If you weren't such a bad boy all the time, this wouldn't have happened. I do this for you, so you can have discipline."_

_Obediently, I starred at my reflection, trying to imagine myself the way I used to be, but I couldn't remember._

"_Summer's over," Orochimaru-sama informed me. "You'll go back to school with the others."_

_At these words, my entire spirit seemed to lift. Freedom. But before I could rejoice entirely, he leaned down and whispered in my ear, "But one more sign of disobedience or failure, and you'll be back in this room. Understand?"_

_I nodded at once; what else could I say? I had a chance for freedom from the Room. I could see daylight again. I could see Sakkon again!_

_When Orochimaru-sama opened the door to the Room, he stepped back, smirking widely, for me to walk past. Normally, the smirk would have bothered me; I felt nervous for a split second, but not after I could see the open hallway before me._

"_Big bro!" Sakkon cried, running towards me and throwing his arms around me. "Orochimaru-sama said you went to a summer military camp!" He stopped, stepping back and looking at me from arms length. "You lost a lot of weight."_

"_Well, yeah, they exercised all that fat out of me," I said at once, jumping into the lie, since Orochimaru-sama was still standing behind me._

"_Oh… ok!" Sakkon beamed, taking my wasted hand and dragging me down the hall. "You're just in time for dinner! Everyone's really excited to see you!"_

"_Ok," I said, instantly heartened. _Food!_ I was so hungry, I could feel drool gathering in my mouth at the sight of the dinner table. Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro, who had been sitting side-by-side on their raised chairs, squealed with delight at the sight of me, and jumped down, running under the table to throw their arms around me._

"_You look fuckin' disgusting," Tayuya informed me as soon as I sat down. "Is that shit _blood?_ And your clothes are so damn filthy."_

"_So's your personality," I snapped back, grabbing the nearest dish of food and taking the serving spoon out of it. Then I paused, in the midst of the rising dinner conversation, to look at the dish of food, which happened to be gyoza, my favorite, and then up at Orochimaru-sama, unsure. What if it was a trick? Another one of his psychiatrically tricks? What if, as soon as I started eating, he dragged me away to the Room again?_

_But he smiled a careless little smile and started serving himself tempura. I decided it would be alright, and took a few of the gyoza, then passed the dish to Sakkon, who was next to me, and took the next dish, some kind of leek dish, and put some of that on my plate. I took a little of everything, so as not to appear suspicious, but eventually, my plate was piled high. Orochimaru-sama kept urging me to take second, and then third helpings, which I did, so that he wouldn't get angry and when I was finally done, he asked me to put Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro to bed. So I did._

"_You look funny," Shizuka-sama told me with a little giggle as I tucked the covers in under her chin. "You look like a zombie."_

"_Whooooooooo!" Kimimaro said in a scary voice, standing up on his bed and waving his arms around._

"_Come on, guys, go to sleep," I urged them, going over to tuck Kimimaro in. Again. _

"_And you hands look like the skeleton Ms. Udon showed us," Kimimaro stated, looking at my hands as I tucked him in._

"…_Good night, twerps," I muttered, turning on their night lights and leaving._

"_Night-night, Alpha-kun!" they called after me through the closed door._

"_You know, you do look like shit," Tayuya informed me again when I reached the TV room. "Did they feed you at that damn place or what?"_

"_Nah, I heard they have to _earn_ food at that place," Kidoumaru said with a grin, nudging me with his elbow._

"_Heh-heh, yeah, Alpha-kun's too lazy to earn any damn food, ne?" Tayuya said, grinning as well._

"_Yep, Alpha-kun's lazy," Kidoumaru said in a sing-song voice._

"_Sh… SHUT UP!" I shouted, lunging at him. "I'M NOT LAZY!" I shouted as I beat his face with my fists. "I'M NOT GROSS! YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!"_

"_Ukon, they were just kidding," Sakkon said carefully, trying to drag me off Kidoumaru, who looked semi-stunned. "Just like we always do, you know…?"_

"_Shut up!" I shouted, smacking his hands away. "You all just go fuck yourselves!"_

_I stormed out of the room, leaving them all in an obviously confused state. I was pissed. I was pissed at Kidoumaru, and Tayuya, and Jiroubou, and Sakkon, and Orochimaru-sama, and Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro. I couldn't stand being in that house. At school, it wasn't that much better. People noticed right away the weight lose I'd gotten, and I was picked on and teased a lot behind the teachers' backs (until I started beating their punk asses to the ground). But even though I beat them up, I didn't forget the teasing; it took me a month and a half to fill out again, but every once and a while, there was someone who just had to poke fun at me. Then, finally, the guidance counselor and school nurse couldn't ignore me anymore, and I was called for a meeting between the two of them._

_I was a little freaked out at first—I'd never been asked to see the guidance counselor since the time she'd found out my mom died, and I'd only been to see the nurse once, and that was after the fight with the bully that got me into this whole mess. They were both very nice, and kind, and obviously thought of themselves as "understanding" but I knew they were just being careful around the scrawny odd-man-out who people said had an eating disorder. The nurse asked me a few direct questions, like whether I was getting enough to eat, or if I had any problems at home that could be affecting my school life. I wasn't sure how to answer—yes, I got enough food (more then I needed, actually), but if I told them about Orochimaru-sama, they would call him and I would get in trouble and be back in the Room again. So I told them I had a high metabolism. The nurse didn't believe me, obviously, but asked if I would let her give me a check-up. I agreed, not all that sure why she wanted to check my health, but after I'd taken my shirt off, I realized my mistake, since the old scars were still very visible. It was too late for me to back out, so I took my pants off, too, and stood there while the nurse examined all the scars. She didn't ask how I got them, and after she'd examined every visible square inch of me, she asked if I'd take my boxers off, too._

_I drew the line at that. I knew doctors and nurses and whatnot were allowed to see people naked—it was part of their jobs. But I pointed out that the guidance counselor was not a doctor, so the nurse smiled and asked the counselor to leave, which she did. When she was gone, I took off my boxers as instructed, and the nurse examined me again. It was pretty uncomfortable, but was soon over, and she smiled again and told me to get dressed while she talked to the guidance counselor outside her office._

_They were gone for awhile, but then came back in, looking really serious. I was never sure how to act around adults, so I didn't say anything, but the counselor spoke without my prompting. She asked how old I was, and I answered (ten), and she and the nurse exchanged a look. The counselor then proceeded to inform me that not only did I show signs of child abuse, but also sexual abuse, as well. _

_She went on to talk about how she was willing to "talk" about it, but I wasn't listening. I was in shock; at first it didn't make sense—but then it did, as quick flashes of the times I'd made myself forget came back in a rush. I remembered it all. I felt pretty freaked out. Then I realized the counselor was still talking, so I tried to listen. She was asking me when it happened. I lied right away and said I didn't remember. Apparently, this didn't make her suspicious at all, and instead she asked if I wanted to talk about it. I said no. Then she asked who had been hitting me. I said I didn't remember. She asked if my guardian (Orochimaru-sama) knew. I said I didn't know. She asked if I wanted him to know. I said no. She asked why. I thought up a lie really quick and said I didn't want him to worry. She looked a little… sad?... at my choice, but agreed, and said she wouldn't tell him until I wanted her to. _Not likely to happen, _I thought as I left the nurse's office._

_That evening, when we got home from school, Orochimaru-sama was waiting for us in the living room, like always. He asked how my day went; I said it went ok. I couldn't look at him—the memories I'd tried to repress were still fresh, for me. I pretended that it didn't hurt because I didn't want Sakkon to worry about me, but after a while, Angry-Ukon started coming out more and more. Eventually, I let him have complete control, while I watched everything through his eyes, like a video screen. I would watch him interact with my friends, and with Orochimaru-sama. One thing that I and all my personalities shared, however, was the promise we had made to my mother: protect Sakkon. Love Sakkon. Be there for Sakkon. Angry-Ukon was never mean to Sakkon; on the outside, it just seemed like I was annoyed, or going through puberty, or something like that, which I probably was._

_When I finished middle school, Angry-Ukon went away for a while so I could study for the entrance exams into high school (he was never big on academics). I was smart, so I helped Sakkon study, as well, and we both made it into a good high school, along with the others, while Shizuka-sama and Kimimaro stayed in middle school. Kankurou and Yamiko also went to our high school and that was around the time Yamiko started trying to flirt with me. However, Angry-Ukon was always in control, and he didn't have any interest in relationships, period._

_I was fifteen at the time, and had already been cutting for two years. Sometimes, Angry-Ukon would go to sleep, and I would come back out, against my will, and I would be back in the life I had tried to escape from, so in a desperate attempt to end the pain, I would cut my arms, legs, fingers, anything. It didn't matter where I cut—the new scars blended easily with the old, and I was left in peace._

_Then, one day, Yamiko asked me out. She was probably tried of Angry-Ukon always ignoring her, and decided to take action. I had been in control at the time, and I was so startled I said yes without thinking. Then, afterwards, I was nervous about what Orochimaru-sama would say. So, after school, I asked him (very carefully) and, to my surprise, he said I could have a girlfriend, right away. _

_Being in a relationship with Yamiko was a little weird. She was one of those girls who complimented everything I did, which was surprising, because whenever Orochimaru-sama beat me, he would tell me what a failure I was. After a while, I started warming up to her, and was a better boyfriend, and Angry-Ukon started coming out less and less. However, even though we were together for almost two years, we never had sex—I didn't want her to see all my scars, and I didn't want the old memories to come back._

_Finally, about a month before Orochimaru-sama decided to move to a different area code, Yamiko asked why we never had sex, so I took my shirt off and showed her all the scars. She freaked out, needless to say, and ran out of the house and left. Somehow, Orochimaru-sama found out that I showed her my scars, and he got really angry. Even though I tried to tell him I didn't tell her how I got the scars, he didn't listen, and, the next day in school, I had a new black eye and a few new cuts. When Yamiko saw me, she freaked out again, and that was when she broke up with me._

"_I can't take this anymore, Ukon! You keep putting yourself in danger! I don't need you anymore! Just leave me alone, I'm sick of looking at you!"_

_As soon as she was out of sight, I left and Angry-Ukon came back. While he went about the day, and the whole time we were getting ready to move (and moving) to the new house, I just sort of existed in the back of my conscious, in total disbelief. My entire existence felt crushed; I couldn't believe that, on top of everything else, I had to have Yamiko reject me, too. I had hoped, for some reason, that maybe she'd support me, or make me feel better, or just _be_ there. But she'd run away. Twice._

_Then, when we went to the new school in Konoha, Angry-Ukon stayed out, so I probably seemed really mopey and annoyed to everyone, because Angry-Ukon wasn't all that social. Then, Sakura came. Angry-Ukon yelled at me to come out and deal with her, but I refused. I didn't want to get hurt again, so I told him to get rid of her, and make her leave me alone by being as annoyingly quiet and broody as he could be. But she never left me alone. I guess she was used to it from trying to flirt with Uchiha for so long. Eventually, she wormed it out of Angry-Ukon why I had gotten beaten by Orochimaru-sama. Inside my head, I was terrified. I didn't want to be abandoned again. But she didn't abandon me. She actually felt _sorry_ for me! Angry-Ukon and I were so surprised, he let me come out, and I asked for her name. _

_Even though she had a little attitude problem, and tended to burst out yelling every once and a while, I liked her the way she was. She was someone I could talk to; I was never able to tell anyone about how I felt, or my childhood, or about Orochimaru-sama, but she always listened. And whenever I got beaten, she would always help me, in any way she could. Within two weeks, it wasn't just that I valued her company—I _needed_ her company. I _needed_ the security she gave me. Even when I was in the hospital after the car crash, Sakkon told me she hardly ever left the room, except for necessity. Since my mom died, I couldn't remember anyone being that caring towards me; it confused me, but I didn't care. I didn't want to be alone anymore._

**End flashback**

Ukon closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. _God, I so did not want to remember that, _he thought, chewing his lip. All the old aches were back, in his heart and his body. He glanced over at his dresser; in the top drawer, hidden within the pages of a magazine, was a scalpel. Just one little cut, a moments' pain, and he'd feel better. He got up, forgetting all the warnings he'd given himself before, against cutting, and went over to his dresser, opening the top drawer. He found the magazine and held it by its spine, shaking it, but nothing came out.

He frowned, shaking it harder, then dropped it and picked up another magazine, using the same method. Soon, he'd gone through every single magazine, and box, and book in the drawer, but still couldn't find the scalpel.

"Looking for this?"

He whipped around, guard instantly going up. Sakkon was leaning against the door frame. In one hand, he had the scalpel; in the other, he had several pieces of computer paper with pictures printed on them. "Er—"

"Sakura told me," Sakkon said calmly, "what Orochimaru-sama said."

Ukon blinked, feeling like a deer caught in head lights. "Uh—"

"I wanna show you something," his twin said, going over to sit on Ukon's bed. Ukon followed, still a little bewildered an embarrassed. Sakkon put down the papers and leaned over, rolling up the leg of his baggy black jeans.

Ukon's jaw dropped; cuts peppered the skin around Sakkon's knee, lower thigh, and upper-shin. They looked pretty old, to his relief, but it didn't stop the fact that they were there.

"When did you—"

"When you went off to 'military camp'," Sakkon answered promptly. "You weren't that easy for Orochimaru-sama to hide. You yelled a lot. And you talked to yourself, too."

"…" Ukon remembered that pretty well—the times when he talked to his other personalities out loud, and they would talk back.

"But this got me off it," the younger added, picking up the pack of papers and showing the older.

Ukon took them, looking at the pictures. They showed peoples' arms, legs, necks, backs, even their faces—all covered in deep, penetrating cuts, some of which looked infected. One picture even showed a woman who had cut an entire strip of skin off her forearm. The captions all showed testimonies from the people in the pictures, saying that they had done it to get rid of emotional pain. There was also a scan of someone's diary, where the person in question rambled on and on about how they wanted their life to end because of their parents, or something; the entire bottom of the page was covered in blood.

"It's gross, man," Sakkon said, after a few moments of silence during which Ukon starred at the pictures. "And dangerous. If you wanted a way to let it out, why didn't you try talking to _me_?"

"Oh, like you're one to talk?" Ukon countered, gesturing to Sakkon's leg. "You do it yourself!"

"Which is why I'm the best one to talk to about it!" Sakkon threw back.

"Don't act all high and mighty and call something _you_ yourself did, dangerous!"

"It wasn't my fault, if you were here, I would have told you!"

"I was here the whole time! You just didn't try to talk to me!"

"Yes, I did! I wanted to talk to you, but Orochimaru-sama always caught me! And even if I did get to talk, you never answered!"

"You couldn't have wanted to that much, or you would have kept trying! I was in there for _two months_!"

"I know, ok! And I was really worried about you! None of us really knew what was going on!"

"Well, you didn't try and find out, now, did you!"

"Yes, I did! I asked Orochimaru-sama a million times, but he always said you were at military camp!"

"If you knew it wasn't true, you didn't tell him!"

"I was scared, ok! I didn't know what he would do!"

"So you were more worried about yourself! You don't know what it felt like to be in that room, all alone, for two whole fuckin' months! You have no idea!"

"No, I don't, because you never told me!"

"Why should I tell you! You didn't care enough to even try and get me out of there!"

"Shut up!" Sakkon shouted, lunging at Ukon, tackling him off the bed and onto the floor. They rolled around, punching everything they could reach of the other, knocking into the desk, chair, bed, dresser, and everything else, screaming insults at each other.

Finally, Sakkon somehow slammed Ukon's face into the floor, putting his knee against the older twin's back and holding him there. "You're too fuckin' retard to realize how worried everyone was about you!" he screamed. "You don't care about anyone but yourself! It isn't my fault you never answered when I called you! It isn't my fault Yamiko broke up with you! It isn't my fault Orochimaru-sama picked you for his scapegoat! It isn't my fault that I couldn't do anything about it! I was nine years old! It's your fault for not standing up to him! You're strong! You could kick his ass, but you never did! Are you scared! The big brother I know isn't scared of anything!"

Ukon stopped struggling, looking up at his brother from the corner of his eye; Sakkon had a bloody nose, and a busted lip, the blood from which was dripping down onto Ukon's hair and face. Ukon looked away again, so that Sakkon could wipe his eyes dry, before speaking.

"I was scared," he said quietly. "I was scared that, if I stood up to him, he would kick us both out. He threatened to, before. I promised Mom I would take care of you for her, so I couldn't let us get kicked out."

"We're old enough to take care of ourselves now," Sakkon muttered, getting up off Ukon. "We can live by ourselves now."

Ukon starred up at him; the thought had never occurred to him.

"Sakura," Sakkon called in the general direction of his room. "It's safe."

Ukon's jaw dropped as Sakura stepped out of the bathroom, hands behind her back. "You were there the whole time?"

She nodded slightly. "After you ran off, I went and got Sakkon and told him what happened."

"You two—the whole time, you—_the whole time!_" he ended in a different tone. (Angry-Ukon strikes again)

"Yeah," Sakkon said, as if this were painfully obvious.

A few minutes later, after Ukonhad force-fed Sakkon arnica, and Sakura had bandaged them both up, Sakkon got online on Ukon's computer and showed him a few sites about cutting.

"'The forms and severity of self-injury can vary, although the most commonly seen behavior is cutting, burning, and head-banging'," Sakkon read aloud, scrolling down the page. "'Other forms of self-injurious behavior include carving, biting, scratching, branding, bruising, hitting, marking, burning/abrasions, and picking/pulling skin and hair. Studies have suggested that when people who self-injure get emotionally overwhelmed, an act of self-harm brings their levels of psychological and physiological tension and arousal back to a bearable baseline level almost immediately. In other words, they feel a strong uncomfortable emotion, don't know how to handle it (indeed, often do not have a name for it), and know that hurting themselves will reduce the emotional discomfort extremely quickly. They may still feel bad (or not), but they don't have that panicky jittery trapped feeling; it's a calm bad feeling.'"

"What's 'branding'?" Sakura asked from where she was sitting on Ukon's lap on the floor next to the desk.

"It's like in old western shows where they heat a piece of iron with a family name on it or whatever and press it against a cow," Sakkon answered. "It's probably really painful, I mean, those cows never sit still, do they?"

"What about 'marking'?"

"Not sure," Sakkon answered. "I think it means, you doodling on yourself and make yourself get skin cancer."

"What else does it say?" Ukon asked.

"It says 'One factor common to most people who self-injure, whether they were abused or not, is invalidation. They were taught at any early age that their interpretations of and feelings about the things around them were bad and wrong. They learned that certain feelings weren't allowed. In abusive homes, they may have been severely punished for expressing certain thoughts and feelings. At the same time, they had no good role models for coping. You can't learn to cope effectively with distress unless you grow up around people who are coping effectively with distress. Although a history of abuse is common about self-injurers, not everyone who self-injures was abused. Sometimes invalidation and lack of role models for coping are enough, especially if the person's brain chemistry has already primed them for choosing this sort of coping'," Sakkon read (somehow) in one breath. "That explains a lot…" he said thoughtfully, scratching his chin.

"How?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Well, in this one book I read in eleventh grade, called _Confederate Son,_" Sakkon said, swindling the chair around to face them, "the main character, Cameron, had this dad who hit him a lot, and sexually abused him, and brought other really young boys home and beat them to death, but Cameron honestly felt that his dad was doing this to discipline him, and since he didn't know any other treatment or methods of discipline, he thought that was the only way to go. So," Sakkon said thoughtfully, "because Ukon had been in that room for so long, and had been treated like that for so long, I guess maybe he subconsciously felt that when he got overly-anxious about something, it was a bad thing and that by hurting himself he could punish himself. I highly doubt those exact thoughts went through your head," he added to Ukon as an after-thought.

Ukon shook his head. "Not really. I mean, yeah, I did cut when I was anxious, or over-whelmed, and stuff, but I didn't think about the punishment part." He closed his eyes, leaning back against the bed. "But I want to stop. I was desperate back there. I hadn't thought about that stuff in so long, and it all just came back all at once. But I really do want to stop."

"They have self-help stuff that you can do," Sakkon said, pointing to the website. "There's also a questionnaire thing that helps guys who have been sexually abused."

Ukon looked up. "How'd you know?"

"The guidance counselor in fifth grade asked me," Sakkon said simply. "She wanted to know if I was having the same thing, since we were twins."

"…And…?"

Sakkon looked slightly mortified. "I said no, of course."

"Oh." Ukon looked a little relieved.

"Anyway, here." Sakkon got up, gesturing to the computer. "Take the questionnaire thing. It's supposed to make you feel better."

Ukon gave in, and Sakura got up to sit on the bed next to Sakkon while Ukon sat at the computer and looked over the questionnaire.

"This is bullshit," he said, after reading the first few questions.

"Just do it," Sakkon ordered. "People said it works."

Ukon sighed, copy/pasting the questionnaire into a Word Document and filling in his answers.

1. Describe a possession of high value to you (i.e., a piece of jewelry, a family heirloom, a lock of hair).

**Mom's locket**

2. Write down your most closely guarded secret. It could be something you may have shared with a trusted friend, therapist, or spiritual counselor.

**My personalities**

3. Write down your favorite physical characteristic, such as the shine of your hair, the health of your body, the tone of your skin, or the sparkle of your smile.

**Hair color (it's natural)**

4. Write down the name of a person with whom you share a fulfilling and intimate relationship.

**Sakura**

_Now, go to the end of this article on page 7, to "Exercise," and follow the instructions._

_Do not read ahead._

This exercise likely elicited feelings that approximate the shame, anxiety, fear, and self-loathing that male survivors of sexual trauma experience daily. As a facilitator for survivor support groups in Farmington, Maine, I work with many men who have been deeply traumatized by sexual abuse. In these groups, I help men address these feelings in a world that doesn't give males permission to do what is essential to recovery—feel and express emotions.

(Page 7—exercise)

1. Look at the answer you gave for your most valued possession. Let yourself fully understand and feel why this is important to you. Now, imagine that, through no fault of your own, this possession has been taken away and is no longer yours. Tear the answer from the sheet of paper and rip it to shreds.

2. Look at (or think about) your secret. Now, carefully tear this piece from the sheet of paper, imagine you are reading this as a front-page headline in your local newspaper today. Destroy the piece in any manner you wish.

3. Tear off the piece of paper identifying your most pleasing physical characteristic. Erase, cross out or smudge your answer. Imagine your pleasing characteristic being compromised, losing its appeal, changing shape, or losing luster—whatever would take away your pleasure in it.

4. Crumple your most valued relationship and throw it into a waste receptacle. This relationship is over. The person is no longer in your life.

5. Think about how you are feeling now. Go back to the point in the article where you left off and continue reading.

Sakkon and Sakura were a little surprised when Ukon started ripping off strips of paper and ripping the strips into tiny pieces, but they didn't press, and he went on reading.

About and hour and a half later, he finished reading, and turned in the chair to look at them. There was a long silence, in which they waited expectantly and he just starred at them. Then he grinned. "I feel lucky," he told him cheerfully, before closing the program and getting up.

* * *

**WARNING!**

**Orochimaru's methods of "discipline" are considered abusive and wrong. If you or anyone you know are being treated this way, contact your local police department. The punishment for child abuse involves prison time, possibly a life-sentence.**

**Ukon's split personality disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder, is a very real mental disorder often caused by emotional trauma. It is very possible for Dissociative Identity Disorder to occur in normal teen-agers who don't want to deal with their emotions, as well. Many teens (and other people) often have no idea that they have this disorder. If you suspect that you or anyone around you has Dissociative Identity Disorder, contact your school guidance counselor, parent or therapist. For more information, search online.**

**REFERENCES USED:**

_A Child Called "It"_ by Dave Pelzer—A self-told true story about a boy who was abused by his mother for most of his childhood. The references used to this book are true, and should never be used against another person (i.e., cold water treatment, calling another person "It"). This book is not fiction, and should be taken seriously if read.

_Confederate Son, _(I forgot the authoress' name)—A book about a young boy named Cameron whose father is abusive, both physically and sexually. Again, this book is not to be taken lightly if read, although it is fiction.

If you read these books and have any questions, please contact either me or my sister, or a parent, and we will try and help you.


End file.
